Ava Benezra, M.A., Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

For the most part, suffering isn’t random. It emerges in the gap between our deepest desires and the external realities of our lives; between the person we feel ourselves to be and the way we are able to show up in the world. Feeling better isn’t a matter of willpower alone. Rather, it's by respecting the wisdom in our suffering that we come to experience less of it. My practice is premised on the belief that even our most painful symptoms have an inner intelligence to them, pointing us in the direction of greater wholeness. Our task will be to cultivate a space where you can hear that wisdom and, over time, learn to embody it. Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, I spent a decade as a community organizer and lived extensively in Zen monasteries. I'm currently in post-graduate training in Jungian depth psychotherapy, and have counseled unhoused families, facilitated group therapy in a men's prison, and led restorative justice circles for families in the wake of trauma. Pain isn't a failure - it's an essential part of being human. Clients find that by choosing to meet their pain in therapy, experiences and emotions which previously felt unbearable can become the bedrock of their most vital resources and the foundation on which they build more meaningful, truer lives. Please reach out to get started.