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Advisory Working Group Member

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Ben has worked with children and young people for over fifteen years within a range of therapeutic settings, including therapeutic community, residential care, and educational settings.

 

Ben graduated with an honours degree in teaching and learning from Middlesex University in London.  He then completed a two-year Graduate Management Scheme with Fairways, an award-winning children's services charity in England. 

 

It was while working at Fairways that Ben read the Lighthouse Foundation’s book titled ‘Therapeutic Residential Care for Children: An Attachment and Trauma-Informed Model for Practice’.  The systemic psychodynamic approach to care practiced at Lighthouse, where young people are placed at the heart of the organisation, connected with Ben’s values. Subsequently, Ben left the UK in 2018 to join Lighthouse Foundation where he worked within Lighthouse’s Secure Base, and Young Parents and Babies programs. 

 

Ben’s natural reflective capacity and ability to connect with staff, children, and young people led him to become a valued leader within the care team. In 2021 Ben became the Manager of Youth Services, providing high level governance, management, and leadership to Lighthouse Foundation’s Therapeutic Tailored Care Programs.

 

As an empathetic and thoughtful leader, Ben practices a growth mindset, inspired by the resilience and drive of the young people he has worked alongside. Ben is passionate about supporting young people to heal from past trauma and develop their individual capacity to achieve their full potential, including enabling them to take up meaningful and values-based employment.  

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