Neely Benn, Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional, Certified TRE Provider, LCSW

I take working with people living with trauma and illness very seriously, both in mind and in heart. Becoming a Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional under the mentorship of Dr. Leslie Korn (a medical school-trained integrative traumatologist) was no accident.

9/11 was my third day of school as a freshman at New York University. I lived in ground zero and would continue to live there for several years after the attacks. Unbeknownst to me, I contracted multiple chronic conditions including a traumatic brain injury, mold disease, thyroid disease, severe PTSD and four co-infections. All of these physical conditions went misdiagnosed by conventional medicine practioners and I would end up living with them for another 17 years.

I saw conventional medicine doctors and was prescribed over 19 different types of psychiatric medications at different stages of my life to treat unexplainable symptoms. I took them as prescribed. I stopped sleeping and ended up becoming progressively ill. My brain became dependent on the medications and my body less resilient. For 2 1/2 years my hands stopped moving entirely and I had to live with chronic pain, injuries and infections which only yielded more pharmaceuticals and conventional physical/occupational therapy.

Seventeen years later I finally listened to my inner voice, rejected conventional medicine and illuminated the true issues at hand. I found alternative practitioners gifted at integrative medicine, acupuncture, neurofeedback, fascia release, nutrition, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, craniosacral, chiropractice, and energy work. Once I started living intuitively, my health and life completely turned around.

I could never have gotten here without my faith, believing in the wisdom of my body and integrative care. Excited to bring about change to others in ways I never imagined possible, I became an Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional to collaborate with alternative providers and to work with psychiatrists directly to help individuals safely reduce/taper off psychiatric medications (with Dr. Korn’s Method).

Your story matters to me… and, I get it. I promise to see you and not mistake your symptoms as you. I believe that recovering from trauma deepens the human experience and believe in the deepest wisdom of your body. I so look forward to watching you flourish! A better world of health and intimacy awaits!