Ben Edwards, LMSW (he/him)

Licensed master Social Worker LMSW#

Bullying & Self-Esteem

Anxiety

Trauma & Life Transitions

Client Focus: Children and Teens Working Through Bullying, Anxiety, Low Self-Esteem, School Challenges, Trauma, and Life Transitions

Specialties: Bullying and recovery, anxiety, low self-esteem, school challenges and avoidance, life transitions (divorce, loss, moves, family changes), trauma, behavioral struggles, social and self-image concerns

Treatment Methods: Animal-Assisted Therapy, Nature-Based Therapy, Art and Creative Approaches, Play Therapy, Trauma-Informed Care

Ben Edwards is a Licensed Master Social Worker who works with children and teens who have started to fold in on themselves: quieter, more withdrawn, quicker to say something harsh about who they are.

Shaped by his own experience of coming through hard years, Ben brings a perspective to his work that goes beyond technique. He knows what it feels like to believe something is fundamentally wrong with you, and he knows, with real certainty, that it isn't the truth. With specialized focus on bullying recovery, anxiety, self-esteem, and trauma, he creates a steady, low-pressure space where kids feel like real people rather than problems to be fixed.

His therapeutic approach is experiential and tailored to each child. Most kids who come to see Ben have already tried the "just talk about it" approach, and it didn't work, so he doesn't start there. He builds trust first through doing rather than talking, drawing on a few distinct approaches matched to what a child needs: animal-assisted work to help guarded or trauma-affected kids open up, nature-based sessions for children who do their best work outdoors, art and creative approaches for feelings that need a way out that isn't language, and play therapy to meet younger children where they are. Each session follows one of these approaches rather than blending them, so families know what to expect.

Ben works with younger children through teens, supporting kids through bullying, anxiety, low self-esteem, school avoidance, life transitions, and the weight of trauma. He works in person, where his hands-on and outdoor approaches fit best.

Outside the therapy room, Ben carries the same belief into his work that shaped his own healing: that kids come back to themselves when someone shows up as a real person and actually listens. His commitment to meeting children without pressure or performance reflects a deeper conviction that confidence rebuilds slowly, in relationship, and that no child should have to carry it alone.

  • Ben's own experience of struggle gives him a grounded, firsthand understanding of what it feels like to lose confidence, allowing him to meet kids without distance or judgment.

  • His range across animal-assisted work, nature-based sessions, art and creative approaches, and play therapy gives him flexible, hands-on ways to reach children who haven't responded to talk-only therapy.

  • Ben's belief that trust comes before talking shapes every session, creating a space where guarded or shut-down kids can slowly reconnect with parts of themselves that had gone quiet.

"Some of my most real breakthroughs have happened when a kid wasn't 'doing therapy' at all. They were doing something with their hands, or sitting with an animal, and something shifted. I want kids to feel like real people in that room, not a problem to be fixed."

– Ben Edwards, LMSW