About Us
Benjamin Tolleso, MA, LPC-Associate, NCC
Supervised by Dr. Rosemary Hernandez, PhD, LPC-S, NCC, CCMHC
I view my purpose as a counselor is to help you achieve your goals, especially in regard to mental health, but also keeping in mind your physical, social, spiritual, financial, etc. health is interconnected to your mental health.
I endeavor to create a safe place you, listen in humble curiosity, free of judgement to your story. I approach counseling as a collaborative quest, with you being the expert on yourself and your life, and I bringing knowledge, training and experience with research and evidence-based techniques to help you achieve your goals.
I use integrative (or holistic), multiculturally informed, strength-focused and trauma informed (or trauma-focused when appropriate) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), incorporating elements from Attachment Theory, Family Systems, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Motivational Interviewing, and Narrative Therapy, as well as incorporating creative & expressive modalities and bibliotherapy on a case by case basis when the situation and evidence calls for it. And of course, I use the humanistic Person-Centered Therapy as a foundation of my basic counseling skills, as do most mental health practitioners nowadays.
I also approach therapy more generally as creating a safe place for my clients, listening in curiosity, free of judgment to their stories. I view counseling as a collaboration between the client, who is expert on themselves and their life, and myself with my knowledge, training and experience with research and evidence-based techniques. I presently am only able to see clients through virtually. Our practice primarily uses the platform, Doxy.me, to see clients.
Although most client issues I am okay with helping clients with, treating trauma, especially chronic childhood trauma is emerging as a speciality. Although I gladly provide services to people of any and no religious affiliation, I also specialize in providing mental health services to Eastern Orthodox Christians. I also have a knack with establishing rapport with people who are a little nerdy or geeky, probably because such is descriptive of myself.
Most of the client issues I have experience working with has been anxiety, depression and trauma, with some additional training working with people struggling with trauma, especially childhood trauma.
email: benjamin@drhernandezpllc.com