Ben Harris, MA, LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor)
About Me
I was raised in Montana in the city of Billings and neighboring town of Shepherd. Growing up in Montana provided me the opportunity to develop an appreciation for nature and a different way of life than most people experience. After graduating from Montana State University, I moved to Illinois in 2003 to attend graduate school at Northern Illinois University, where I received my Master of Arts in Psychology. I have spent the past several years enjoying what the Midwest and the city of Chicago have to offer.
My training and job experiences in the field of mental health have combined to prepare me for my career as a therapist. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor practicing full-time at LivingRite. I work primarily with individuals experiencing difficulties in the areas of anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and chronic pain. I also enjoy working with couples from all backgrounds who are looking to improve their connection with one another. I have experience working with people who are having difficulties in other areas as well. Please see my “Other Areas of Clinical Focus” section below. In my work with individuals and couples, I use only those interventions that I know have been supported by research to be effective. I provide a safe, trusting environment in which the people with whom I work can feel comfortable and confident in their abilities to reach the goals they have set for themselves.
Anxiety
We all experience anxiety at various times in our lives. Anxiety can actually be a very helpful emotion. However, at times anxiety can get out of control and develop into something that causes serious problems in people’s abilities to live the lives they want. When that happens, things can appear hopeless and people often feel helpless in their struggles with anxiety. I provide help for people who are suffering from Panic Disorder, Phobias, Social Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Hoarding/Acquiring, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I use exposure-based interventions to help people overcome their fears and get back to their lives. These interventions have received extensive support from research and have been found to be incredibly effective for a vast majority of people. They are also relatively brief, requiring on average between 10 and 16 sessions.
Mood Disorders
Life has a way of presenting us with situations that can be difficult to adjust to. Sometimes we are able to move on, and sometimes we can get stuck and feel like there is no way out. The latter can develop into Major Depressive Disorder, which is characterized by symptoms such as feeling down, losing interest in things one used to enjoy, feeling lethargic, having difficulty sleeping, feeling hopeless and lonely, and experiencing suicidal thoughts. Sometimes people who experience depression also experience periods of time where they feel “high on life” or invincible, do not feel the need to sleep, experience racing thoughts, engage in high-risk behaviors (e.g., shopping sprees, gambling, other risky behaviors), etc. These are all signs that suggest a person may be suffering from Bipolar Disorder. I have experience working with people whose lives have been affected by depression and Bipolar Disorder. I am comfortable using a variety of approaches (e.g., Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy) to help people learn how to manage symptoms and improve their ability to cope with stressors.
Chronic Pain
Pain is not just a physical condition. It affects our emotional state, and vice versa. It affects our ability to handle stress. Pain can seem to dictate what we are and are not able to do. Pain is often accompanied by other medical (e.g., diabetes, COPD, obesity) and mental health concerns (e.g., depression, adjustment problems, anxiety/worry) that make managing one’s life more difficult. People with chronic pain are subject to this turmoil every day. My approach to helping people with chronic pain is based in Cognitive-Behavioral and Interpersonal therapy approaches. I help people learn what they can do, as well as what they can avoid, to help manage their pain and related medical and mental health concerns. I provide an opportunity for people with pain to feel understood and supported. I encourage people suffering from chronic pain to participate in 
complementary methods of pain management, and I provide resources to those who are interested in pursuing a multidisciplinary approach to their pain.
Couple Counseling
Sometimes in a relationship we can lose the connection with our significant other, and it can feel like we’ll never get that connection back. This can be a frightening experience, and it can lead to unhealthy ways of interacting that serve to maintain the distance that we want so badly to eliminate between ourselves and the person we love. I provide emotionally focused couple therapy to couples who wish to re-establish a connection to help them move toward increased happiness and understanding of one another.
Other Areas of Clinical Focus
In addition to the areas listed above, I work with people who have concerns related to self-esteem, stress reduction and coping strategies, anger management, history of abuse, and adjustment to changes in life situation (e.g., loss of job, end of relationship, death of a loved one). I also run LivingRite's Opioid Assessment Program, which provides valuable information (e.g., assets/liabilities related to treatment outcome, risk of medication misuse/abuse, treatment recommendations) for medical healthcare professionals who work with individuals who experience chronic pain. People who go through the assessment process also appear to benefit; they often come away with new information that they can use to help themselves pursue a more effective pain management approach.
I provide a group therapy approach for the areas of chronic pain and Panic Disorder. Groups are offered based on interest.