About Ben

Ben Rivers was born in Scotland and raised in the UK and Australia.  He is currently based in occupied Palestine where he works as an educator and applied theatre practitioner. 

Ben specializes in initiatives that promote community building, social justice and trauma recovery. Over the past 12 years he has worked in several continents with a broad range of populations including the homeless, marginalized youth, the incarcerated, migrants, refugees, relatives of forced disappearance and other communities impacted by structural oppression, political violence and collective trauma.

As a facilitator, Ben helps to create spaces where individuals and communities can access imagination and creativity, engage in dialogue, transform obstacles and move towards more meaningful and empowered lives. He draws from a variety of arts-based, therapeutic and pedagogical traditions including Playback Theatre, Psychodrama, Expressive Arts Therapy, Theatre of the Oppressed and Popular Education.  

Ben holds a Masters in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Drama Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies, USA.  He is currently undertaking doctoral research through the University of New England, Australia.