Dorothy Hodgkinson

I am available to take on new clients at various times on Mondays and Wednesdays between 8.30 am & 5 pm, 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.  This is an opportunity for us to find out a bit about each other - what draws you to counselling, how I work with clients - and allows us to consider whether we think we can work together.  If you decide that you wish to book in with me for counselling sessions, we can do so immediately or you can come back to me later once you have had time to consider what you want to do - what you are ready to do.

I respond to emails and tel calls as soon as I am able between sessions and other appointments.  Please allow up to 48 hrs.

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.

My practice will be closed from Monday 23 December 2024 until reopening on Monday 6 January 2025.

Counselling is primarily a process of conversation between us.  Such conversation can be reflective, challenging, supportive and much more.  Our sessions may focus on specific events, issues or challenges in your life, or take a broader perspective on where you feel your life is going and what changes you may wish to make. So, whilst you may have something major that is happening now that you wish to come to counselling about, equally you may be unsure about exactly what you want to address.  Either is equally valid.

I believe it is important for clients to know 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). 

Or you may come with a very specific sense of what you need to work on.

In other words you will be welcomed into the counselling space  as you are.  

Previous 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."

It matters to me that my counselling practice provides a safe, supportive approach embedded in an abundance of compassion. Whilst my practice is trauma-informed, neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ affrmative, I see clients from a wide range of backgrounds and lived experiences.

I also provide training on issues such as working with the impact of later-identified neurodivergence, life-restricting conditions, and raising awareness of issues impacting on transgender individuals.

My approach to working with you will be led by your needs and preferences.  We will work together ensuring that we are addressing what you need from counselling, whether that be exploring events in the past, dealing with immediate concerns, working through a sense of uncertainty, loss, or confusion, or a mixture of any of these.

I work from a person-centred approach, which means that I believe you have the resources within yourself to deal with whatever has brought you to counselling - even though initially you may doubt this yourself. My job is to help you discover, or rediscover, your sense of who you are, how you want to live your life, what your values are, what matters to you at this stage in your life, and to work out a way forward.  I may work solely with you through our conversations, or with some clients I may introduce other resources - whether external information on a particular issue or a more creative way of working if it seems appropriate and you feel comfortable with this.

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 and I will accommodate these as much as possible.

I ask for at least 24 hours’ notice of cancellation or to change an appointment, whenever possible.  That said, 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 an initial consultation of up to 30 mins which is free.

This is an opportunity for us to explore what you want to bring to counselling, whether I believe I have the experience/skills to work with you, and whether we think we could work together.

It has been shown repeatedly that one of the most important factors for successful counselling is the relationship between counsellor and client.  This is why I offer this free, initial meeting - time for us to get an early sense of whether we think we can work together productively. 

I do not ask clients to complete lengthy assessment forms - I believe it is important to allow clients time to determine what they need counselling for within the context of our sessions, and to adjust my practice accordingly as the work develops.  Often clients will come to counselling with one idea of what they need, only to find as the sessions progress that there is something deeper that they then want to bring, once they have found sufficient trust in the counsellor, the process, and, most importantly, in themselves.

If you decide to continue into full counselling sessions with me, I will ask you to complete a simple contact information sheet and will provide you with a counselling information sheet giving more details of how I work.