Services

  • Psychotherapy

    Psychotherapy offers a route towards healing, discovery and authentic connection to our inner world, and to others. As we release ourselves from burdens, we begin to discover more space, greater possibility and a wider perspective.

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  • Drama Therapy

    The origins of human culture can be found in ancient forms of storytelling and theatre. Ritual, song, dance and enactment have always been cornerstones of personal and collective expression.

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  • Playback Theatre

    In a Playback Theatre event, people share true stories from their own lives, and watch as a team of actors, or fellow community members, transform these accounts into improvised theatre pieces.

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  • Voice Work

    For some, voice work offers a path towards healing, connection and awakening. For others, the human voice provides a powerful route to creative and artistic expression.

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I am a psychotherapist, educator and applied theatre practitioner with over 20 years of experience in the fields of mental health and community services.

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TeStimonials

Testimonies

Ben Rivers is not just a powerful therapist, a creative artist and a committed activist, he is an embodiment of what Carl Jung called a friend of the soul and becomes that to those of us blessed with knowing him. Ben's life is a constant source of inspiration in his commitment for a world in which justice and freedom can be possible for all humans and the other-than-human beings. I have witnessed Ben's constant exploration and research in finding new ways to explore transformation and healing using beauty and the infinite power of love.

Hector Aristizabal
Founder of ImaginAction
Medellin, Colombia

Ben has that invaluable quality – a serene, zen-like calm – that envelops his passion and deep knowledge. He teaches you as much about the world as about yourself, without ever appearing to teach. All this, with a delightful sense of humour – his smile lights up the room.

Sudhanva Deshpande
Actor, publisher, organiser
New Delhi, India

As someone who has worked at the intersection of art, activism and scholarship for many years, I say without a hint of exaggeration that Ben Rivers is the most innovative, penetrating, inspirational and uplifting practitioner I have ever come across. Whether working with Palestinians and international activists in the heart of the West Bank, training refugees and residents of Cairo’s informal settlements, or leading workshops from Tasmania to Kashmir, his physical, emotional and intellectual brilliance and empathy make working with him a life-changing experience for everyone fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do so.

Mark Levine
Professor of History at UC Irvine, Guggenheim Fellow, Grammy winning musician
Irvine, California

Ben is a kind human. I could mention his extraordinary life experiences, dedication and accomplishments - but all of these stem from, and are ultimately just background music to, his deep and sincere kindness. To think of spending time with Ben makes my heart glow and radiate out into my limbs. He brings this attention to, and delight in, the real human-ness of life. He's not swayed by status or interested in accolades: he'll enjoy digging in the dirt with a child with wholehearted glee, just as easily as he'll bring his searching intelligence to the critical questions facing our world. Ben's magic is that, through his presence, connections light up: between ideas, people, nature, our wounded inner selves, the towering structures of political oppression, language, movement, and feeling. This web of interbeing becomes illuminated by his love and playfulness. Those who are lucky enough to know Ben as a teacher, therapist, co-creator or friend are blessed to share in his creative flow, to dance in the time we have together as beats in the pulse of life.

Emily Conolan
Social theatre practitioner
Hobart, Tasmania

Ben's training is full of nuance, empathy, and a brilliant understanding of how to facilitate across cultures. It is a joy to learn from him, an inspiration to see his tireless activism - he is a beacon of hope in this world!

Shruthi Veena Vishwanath
Musician, educator, performer
Pune, India

Ben Rivers is one of the most authentic Social Arts Practitioners that I have come across. His care for the earth and the beings of earth is inspirational. He has the ability to bring lightness and joy to the deepest and darkest moments that one stumbles upon while in pursuit of social justice. Ben is a healer. I recommend his workshops 10000%!

Arundathi Vishwanath
Theatre facilitator & Medicine Woman
Bangalore, India

In 2013, life opened a door for me, and I was ready for an experience which would turn out to be transformative. A generous mentor whose teachings and humane presence are inseparable, Ben Rivers has sown in me seeds which have been growing over the last nine years; humility, curiosity, playfulness, his constant exploration of what it means to be fully alive, and what it takes to work tirelessly towards cultural change, a change that would take place when individuals heal and tap into their inner strength.

Sahar Elmougy
Egyptian novelist and Assistant Professor of American Studies,
Faculty of Arts, Cairo University
Cairo, Egypt

I was privileged to work alongside Ben for many years, in a refugee camp facing immense oppression. I watched Ben facilitate deep transformation of individuals, and in extension communities. By working his magic, Ben contributed to people coming together, embarking on the painful and powerful journey of change.

Johanna Wallin
Author, activist
Uppsala, Sweden

Ben Rivers has been the lynchpin for much of my work in training actors and devising theatre projects in and for communities struggling to survive hardship and injustice. I owe to him my renewed belief in the power of drama to transform lives.

Di Trevis
Director, author
London, UK

Ben Rivers has been my dear teacher and mentor for close to a decade. His teachings, supervisions, gentle guidance, insightful advice over the years - as well as his own role-modelling and embodiment of all the compassionate values he so earnestly believes in - have helped me endlessly in my own personal and professional growth (and still do!) and for that I am eternally grateful.

Dahlyia Sabbour
Drama Practitioner
Cairo, Egypt

I’m so blessed to know Ben in his different roles as a facilitator, trainer, supervisor, therapist, and also as founder/director of Dawar Arts. Ben’s compassion and professionalism have helped me to feel seen, secure and understood. Having him as a role model will be a gift I shall always be grateful for.

Shymaa Mesalam
Consultant psychiatrist
Cairo, Egypt

As an activist, a therapist and a trainer, Ben’s work is of uncommon quality thanks to his wide experience and to his high professional and human competencies. Ben makes himself fully available to the causes he supports and to the groups he accompanies with generosity, determination, listening, humour and compassion.

Marianne Grison
Psychiatrist and theatre practitioner
Montpellier, France

I joined a retreat led by Ben at a point in my life where I was seeking release from an internal struggle … What happened was beyond my expectations. Not only did I improve my relationship with myself - but the effect of the work extended long after the retreat to encompass my relationships with others around me. I’m so grateful for having worked with Ben and for participating in the magic that led me to this place of love and joy.

Mona Mandour
Health Coach
Cairo, Egypt

Having worked with Ben for several years, I can attest to his grounded knowledge, and his unique skills and qualities as a person and practitioner. Through him I discovered new ways that theatre can heal and empower communities - especially those that are impacted by trauma, oppression and political violence. Ben has a gift for creating spaces where people can share and communicate the stories, emotions and challenges they face.

Faisal Abu Alhayjaa
Actor/Comedian
Occupied Palestine

Drama, Healing, and Community are common threads that connect the roles that Ben plays with absolute mastery. Ben’s professional expertise, his vast knowledge and comprehensive methodology, combined with his natural sensitivity and open heart, enable him to create, hold and nourish spaces of authentic expression and transformative healing. As a therapist, trainer, mentor and activist, Ben's work is first and foremost committed to honouring humanity.

Mona El Shimi
Writer, Psychologist, Actor
Cairo, Egypt

Working with Ben has been one of the most amazing experiences I have had at PeaceWorks. The patience, the empathy and the kindness his personality exudes make him an extraordinary facilitator, inspiring deep trust and confidence in all those he works with.

Meena Megha Malhotra
Director, PeaceWorks - The Seagull Foundation for the Arts
Calcutta, India

I have experienced Ben as a humble, servant leader, a caring mentor and a generous teacher. I witnessed and worked alongside Ben as he created a whole movement of community arts in Egypt. Thanks to him and to his visionary pioneering work, there are now hundreds of facilitators who have graduated from the programs he has designed, led and curated. These facilitators are in turn taking their work to every corner of Egypt and beyond. Ben's students, of whom I am one, as well as Ben himself, work with those most in need, in the most vulnerable areas. Ben’s work has reached into houses, communities, neighbourhoods, schools and workplaces across Egypt. What an honour it has been to cross paths.

Nariman Moustafa
Founder of Mesahat: Liberating Learning Spaces
Cairo, Egypt

Dr Ben Rivers is a creative and stellar therapist, group worker, and trainer who makes a difference in the world of trauma and healing around the world.

Kate Hudgins, PhD, TEP
Author and Founder of the Therapeutic Spiral Model
Virginia, USA

Ben is a gifted trainer. His ability to mobilize people to create programming to serve the underserved is remarkable, whether that is services to traumatized refugees, start-up businesses in informal settlements of Cairo, or the many other programs he has developed.

Tom Holmes, PhD, MSW
Associate Professor Emeritus, Western Michigan University
Michigan, USA

Ben is a visionary group leader, an activist and an organiser, working on the ground to build community spaces that use art for healing. For me, Ben has been a teacher, a mentor, a friend and a comrade.

Pankaj Tiwari
Artist-Curator
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Events

Events
THE INVADERS' FEAR OF MEMORIES
May 31
THE INVADERS' FEAR OF MEMORIES

A Play About the Colonisation of Palestine.

Playback Theatre for Advocacy and Political Action
Oct 12
Playback Theatre for Advocacy and Political Action

In this 2-day Master Class, we will explore several functions that Playback Theatre can serve within social movements.