Ben Waller

Hello! I'm Ben. A Columbia native, I graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Exercise Science. After graduating, life took me on a winding road through many ups, downs, moves, and unexpected transitions. Along the way, there was a stop in St. Louis, MO, where I earned a Master's of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary. A few years later, I landed back in the city that I grew up in and am proud to call home. Here in Columbia, I met my wife, earned my Master's of Counseling from Columbia International University (CIU), welcomed two children into the world, and started Hope for Tomorrow Counseling. I welcome people of all backgrounds, walks of life, and spiritual beliefs or worldview. I look forward to listening to your story and helping you find healing, strength, and hope to the best of my ability.

Have you ever considered your life as a story? Like any good story, our lives have a setting, characters, themes, plot twists, beauty, brokenness, and mystery. If you were to start a reading a new book today, I would bet that you wouldn't just open up to the middle chapters, start reading, and expect it all to make sense. Likewise, in order to understand the chapter of life we currently find ourselves in, it is tremendously helpful to look at the story--your life--as a whole, from the beginning. How did we come to be who we are and where we are? As we begin to look at and reflect on our story with curiosity and kindness, we can begin to make profound changes in our lives.

In your sessions with me, you can expect to come away with greater insight, awareness, self-compassion, and ability to make connections in your life--i.e., to make sense of your thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In addition, you can expect to leave with a sense that you and your story matter--at the very least, to me. Through these things, it is my belief that over time, you will grow in your ability to make changes in your life. From day one, I hope you leave with enough strength to face today's challenges and enough hope to face whatever tomorrow may bring.