Dorothy Hodgkinson

I am available to take on new clients on Mondays andWednesdays between 8.30am & 5pm, for in-person, online or telephone sessions.  

Please email or phone to arrange a free initial conversation. This will not commit you to anything further.  I respond to emails and tel calls during typical office hours (Mon - Fri, 9am-5pm), as soon as I am able between sessions and other appointments.  Please allow up to 48hrs.

My therapy room is on the first floor in The Studio.  There is no lift in the property.  Toilets are available on the same floor as my therapy room.

Counselling is primarily a process of conversation between us. I repeatedly witness the courage and strength it takes for a client to get through the door for their first session - the hesitation, the nervous smile, the questioning look that says, "Am I in the right place? I'm not sure I should be here ...".  I see the need for someone else in their corner who will not judge or shame them - and I seek to offer just such a compassionate, welcoming space for them to feel safe, even in their vulnerability.

Some of my clients have said: 

"I never felt judged or uncomfortable and started to enjoy the sessions more as they went on as I felt I could trust Dorothy and unload what was on my mind."

"You have given me that gift that living with uncertainty can be OK."

So whilst you may be concerned about whether you 'qualify' for counselling, I want to reassure you that:

You don’t have to have a big, defined issue to work on (you can just know you want something else)

You don’t have to have a specific diagnosis (feeling unhappy with how things are is enough)

You don’t have to be feeling at the end of your tether (simply knowing you want to feel differently is perfectly valid)

It’s not weak to seek counselling (quite the opposite)

It’s not just for women (I see clients of all genders). 

In other words you don’t need to be or have anything specific to be welcomed into the counselling space and to find it helpful. You can come as you are and be accepted as you are.

I work with both neurodivergent and trauma awareness as well as a transgender affirmative approach. It matters to me that my counselling practice is open to individuals of any gender, any aspect of neurodivergence - that there is no discrimination or judgement, but rather a safe, supportive approach embedded in an abundance of compassion.

My approach to working with you will be led by your needs and preferences – whether you find it easier to work purely through conversation, or with the addition of images, metaphor, or other creative options. (You don't need any artistic skills to use creative approaches.)

We will review our work together regularly to ensure that we are addressing what you need from counselling, whether that be exploring events in the past, addressing immediate concerns, or working through a sense of uncertainty, loss, or confusion.

I offer short-term, fixed-term, longer-term or open-ended counselling. Sessions can be in-person, online or by telephone. Sessions will usually be on the same day/time each week or fortnight, but please ask if you need more flexibility to work around shifts or other commitments.

I ask for at least 24 hours’ notice of cancellation or to change an appointment, whenever possible.  I appreciate that emergencies happen, and that illness can strike with very little notice. 

I offer one pay as you can counselling space per quarter, no questions asked. Please email me if you would like to discuss this.

I offer a free, initial conversation (in-person, online or by telephone) up to 30 mins, which is an opportunity for us to explore whether we feel we could work together.  Finding the right counsellor is important, feeling that we could build a good relationship together is a major factor in supporting you towards what you want to achieve in counselling.  I want you to have this time to help inform your choice.

This session is a chance for you to find out more about how I work, what you can expect from me and what I might expect from you.  I want you to feel able to ask me any questions about counselling, how I work, or even raise any initial fears or expectations you may have about how the counselling process might impact on you.  

It is also an opportunity for me to find out a bit about you and what you are hoping for from counselling, so that I can weigh up if I have the appropriate knowledge and experience to support you. 

I will not expect you to complete a detailed assessment as it is important to me that (should you decide to work with me) we work on the issues you present at the time.

Between us we can then determine if this feels like a good match and decide on the way forward - whether to book in for actual counselling sessions or to find alternative counsellors for you to contact. There is no commitment to book in just because we have had an initial consultation.  You may want to take some time afterwards to consider what we've talked through before making a commitment to counselling with me - and that is good with me.