Clinical Psychologist
Private Practice
Kensington, California, United States
Ken Benau, PhD earned his doctorate in clinical psychology with a subspecialty in adult psychotherapy at Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA, in 1988. His Master's thesis studied the relationship between conscious and unconscious attitudes toward the mentally ill. His dissertation focused on integrative, mind/body approaches to creative problem solving and symbolization in psychotherapy. Dr. Benau has been a California licensed clinical psychologist since 1990, and maintains a private practice in Kensington, CA, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. He provides individual, couple, and family therapy, professional consultation, and training. Dr. Benau has expertise in working with children and adults with various learning and developmental differences, including those living with LD, ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dr. Benau is particularly interested in the long-term effects of early, developmental "absence" or neglect, and how understanding these experiences inform psychotherapy with adults. He also has a special interest and expertise in shame and pride-informed psychotherapy with survivors of relational trauma. Dr. Benau has presented his ideas about shame, pride, and dissociation and their therapeutic applications in psychotherapy with relational trauma survivors at various international conferences, webinars and podcasts. He has also written several non-peer and peer reviewed articles with that same theme, where he introduced the concept and phenomena of pro-being pride, a powerful antidote to traumatic shame states. Pro-being pride is the experience of taking delight in one’s unique way of being and relating to oneself, others, and the world. Dr. Benau’s book, "Shame, Pride, and Relational Trauma: Concepts and Psychotherapy", was published by Routledge in March, 2022.
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Absence: Shame, Dissociation and Psychotherapy with Attachment Trauma in non-DID and DID Clients
Friday, March 27, 2026
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM US Pacific Time