Ben Borkan, Founder
“I first found inspiration in (couples) therapy when my partner and now wife and I started our own couples exploration. The therapist we worked with made contact with us and helped my wife and I make contact with one another. As a result, our relationship deepened.”
In wilderness therapy, when individuals learned more about the messages of family dynamics received implicitly and explicitly at home, they developed awareness of how this plays out in their present day relationships. As a result, they were empowered to choose different, more meaningful ways of relating with themselves and others. Healing manifested in powerful ways.
Inspired by his work in wilderness therapy, he was led to study clinical social work at Smith College School for Social Work, where he earned his Masters in Social Work (MSW). Ben is licensed and takes clients in Maine, Colorado, and Massachusetts.
Ben Borkan, founder of the Maine Relationship Institute, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He is also a Gestalt therapist certified at the Gestalt Institute of the Rockies. There, he learned the tools he chooses to use today: helping people, including himself, rewire obstacles to authenticity and intimacy.
Ben has also received training in Crucible® Therapy. Crucible Therapy incorporates contemporary neuroscience that helps people move past projections, behavioral obstacles, and thoughts that inhibit intimacy and interfere with deeper, more satisfying relationships between partners.
When Ben began his career in mental health in 2012, he was not initially a couples therapist. He first began his work in therapy with young people in wilderness therapy, fully immersed in nature within the Colorado mountains. Guiding these groups of young adults, he experienced the profound impact of social relationships on an individual’s development. In this group setting, Ben saw how family systems play a crucial role in impacting how we relate to one another.
Ben's Work With Individuals & Couples Counseling Using The Crucible & Gestalt Approaches
“I take pride in the work I do. At home, in my professional life, and in my social interactions, I strive to do “the work.” I want to share what I’ve learned so others can experience similar sustained and meaningful change in their relationships.”
Ben mainly uses Crucible® and Gestalt Therapy in his individual and couples therapy sessions because he personally and professionally finds them empowering and effective.
Each of these therapeutic modalities offers different characteristics and approaches to connection in relationship, but Crucible and Gestalt are both strengths-based modalities. They each take holistic views of people the often complex dynamics of relationships and marriage, and work with those dynamics rather than against them to support individuals and couples to grow.
Founding The Maine Relationship Institute
In the last ten years, Ben has worked with individuals, couples, and groups in various settings and with various modalities.
Via his therapy services, he has helped people work through sexual issues, intimacy, and family therapy topics like parenting, relationship dynamics, and more.
MRI was envisioned and founded on the experience that therapy remains his passion for helping others and himself grow. A larger organization can potentially reach more people.
Ben currently resides in Belfast, Maine, with his wife and daughter. He enjoys mountain biking, teaching his daughter how to ride, and learning new languages.
The Maine Relationship Institute currently offers office hours online and in person 3 days a week for weekly therapy, short-term therapy, and intensive therapy or whatever frequency suits your needs. You can schedule an appointment here.
The Maine Relationship Institute does not currently accept insurance. To find an in-network therapist, we recommend contacting your insurance provider.
