Psychotherapy for the Homeward Journey
Integrative Psychotherapy for Adults in Oregon and North Carolina
Welcome!
I’m Ben Shechet (he/him). I help adults of all ages navigate the process of discovering who they are beyond the expectations, roles, and patterns they’ve inherited.
You may have followed what seemed like “The Right Path,” only to find yourself wondering whether it’s actually your path. Maybe you’re not explicitly asking yourself that question. Maybe instead you find yourself sensing that something important is missing or quietly wondering, “How did I get here?” or “Is this what I want?” Or maybe you’re awake at 3am feeling anxious about nothing or everything.
My work is oriented toward helping people more fully know and become themselves. To support this process, I draw from Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic and body-based therapies, and contemplative and meditative practices. This work can help you find greater clarity about your path, a deeper connection to your inner world, and a sense of your inherent worth beyond accomplishments and approval.
How I Work
My approach is grounded in Internal Family Systems (IFS), including somatic IFS, and informed by contemplative and meditative practice. I also offer psychedelic integration for those seeking support in making sense of psychedelic experiences.Internal Family Systems
IFS is a non-pathologizing approach to therapy that works with the many parts of us that make us a whole person. As an IFS therapist, I help clients explore their parts, understand the roles they play, and heal the underlying hurts that can limit their freedom and ease.
Meditation & Mindfulness
For thousands of years, people have recognized the power of deliberate attention to support well-being. I help make these practices accessible in the midst of busy, modern life—no monastery or mountain retreat required.
Somatic Therapy
Our bodies hold information that can be difficult to access through words alone. Somatic approaches can help you notice and work with physical sensations, impulses, and activation patterns, opening new possibilities for how you respond to what you’re experiencing.
Psychedelic Integration
I offer support for understanding and integrating experiences in non-ordinary states of consciousness, whether they’ve been positive, confusing, or difficult. Therapy provides space to explore what happened, what it means to you, and how it may inform your life moving forward.
What We Might Work On
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Persistent worry, a sense that something is wrong, waiting for the other shoe to drop—anxiety is often a message that something in our inner world or life is asking for our attention. Together we can learn to listen to what's underneath the anxiety and find a more easeful way of moving through life.
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Most if not all of us carry around some sense of being not good enough, unworthy, or deficient in some way. We also often have a voice inside that reminds us of those things, sometimes very harshly. In our work, we can begin to unwind the feelings, beliefs, and experiences that keep us wrapped up in a sense of shame, and help our inner critic become an inner champion, adviser, and true source of conscience rather than a punishing force.
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I think of authenticity as the capacity to be connected to our depth—to what’s real and true in us—and to act in the world from that place. I work with clients to support this kind of deep contact, to learn to trust in our own basic goodness, and to let that depth come out to play in the messy world of human relationships.
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Few people arrive in adulthood without carrying wounds and scars from our history. This can include acute trauma like assaults, accidents, and physical or emotional abuse, but can also come from neglect, emotional misattunement, not being seen for who we really are, and more. IFS and somatic work offer a gentle, safe way to begin to process and digest these experiences and to recover our sense of lightness, joy, and at-home-ness in the world.
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Freud famously said that the pillars of a healthy life are the capacities to love and to work. We may work together to clarify, understand, and act on your aspirations for career and vocation, what you want to contribute to the world, and a sense of the value you bring. We may also work to disentangle your own desires and aspirations from those of your family, community, or culture, so that you can feel confident that the life you are living is the one you really want.
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Clients often begin therapy struggling to balance their needs for authenticity and autonomy on one hand, and closeness and connection on the other. In my work with people, we learn to feel strong and confident in who we are and what we do and don't want, which allows us to soften into relationship without being afraid of losing ourselves.
About Me
I came to this work through my own experiences in therapy, and see it as part of a homeward journey we are all traveling in one way or another. For me, this journey is the great adventure of being human, and it’s a privilege to accompany others on their path.
My orientation to therapy is rooted in the view that, at the deepest level, we are whole, complete, and capable. We all have the capacity for love, wisdom, and connection within us—and sometimes we need a little help accessing it.
My role is not to fix or change you, but to support you in connecting with your own capacity to grow and meet your life fully. If you’re interested in an approach to therapy that meets you where you are and helps you connect with your own capacity for deep healing, I’d love to learn more about you and your story.
Get in Touch
Reach out to schedule a free phone consultation. We’ll have a 15-20 minute chat about what you’re looking for in therapy and any questions you have for me.