Michael Dodden, NCPS Therapist - Accredited Member (MNCPS Accred) #NCS20-00979

People come to counselling for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes something has happened and you know exactly what you need help with. Other times it's much harder to put your finger on. You just know that you're overwhelmed, stuck, exhausted, unhappy in a relationship, or that life seems to have become much harder than it should be.

I work with adults experiencing anxiety, low mood, relationship difficulties, burnout, low self esteem, stress and periods of significant change. I also have a particular interest in ADHD and AuDHD, including people diagnosed later in life and those beginning to wonder whether neurodivergence might help explain some of their experiences.

For some people, the difficulties are around emotional regulation. You might go from coping to overwhelmed very quickly, struggle with criticism or rejection, or get caught in thoughts and emotions that are difficult to move away from.

For others, executive functioning is a big part of the problem. You may know perfectly well what you need to do but still can't get started. You might procrastinate until something becomes urgent, struggle with routines or organisation, become intensely focused on one thing while everything else disappears, or find yourself exhausted from constantly trying to keep on top of life.

These things can affect much more than work or productivity. They can show up in relationships, confidence and the way you feel about yourself. You might find yourself people pleasing, avoiding difficult conversations, reacting strongly to rejection, repeatedly burning yourself out, or wondering why things you think you "should" be able to manage seem to take so much effort.

For people with ADHD or AuDHD, many of these things overlap. But I don't assume that everything is caused by ADHD, or that two people with the same diagnosis will experience life in the same way.

How I work

I'm quite a conversational therapist. I'll give you room to talk and work things through, but I won't just sit silently and leave you wondering what I'm thinking.

I'll ask questions, share observations and help you notice patterns. Sometimes I'll challenge you when I think that might be useful. We might spend time understanding where something came from, or we might concentrate much more on what's happening in your life now and what could help.

I draw on counselling, coaching and CBT informed approaches, alongside my understanding of neurodivergence. That might mean exploring something more deeply in one session and leaving another with something practical to think about or try. I don't believe one way of working suits everybody.

Relationships are also an important part of my work. Emotional regulation, rejection sensitivity, communication difficulties, stress and overwhelm can all create patterns where both people care about each other but repeatedly misunderstand what's happening. I work with people trying to make sense of those dynamics, as well as people dealing with relationship breakdown, trust, intimacy, loneliness or uncertainty about what they want.

A little about me

My route into counselling wasn't particularly conventional. Before becoming a therapist, I spent around 30 years working in IT. I was diagnosed with AuDHD later in life after years of masking, pushing through and experiencing repeated burnout.

That experience influences the way I work, but it doesn't mean I'll assume your experience is the same as mine. If anything, it taught me how differently neurodivergence can present and how easily difficulties can be misunderstood when somebody appears to be coping from the outside.

I'm a registered member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS). I'm also trained as a coach and hypnotherapist, with additional training and experience in ADHD, AuDHD, emotional regulation, burnout and relationship difficulties.

**Getting started**

You don't need to arrive knowing exactly what's wrong or with a list of goals for therapy. Sometimes knowing that something needs to change, even if you don't yet know what that change looks like, is enough.

We can start there and work it out together.