Michael Dodden

Michael Dodden is a UK-based counsellor and coach who works with adults managing ADHD, autism, chronic stress, emotional pain, relationship difficulties and burnout. He supports people who are late-diagnosed or still exploring whether they are neurodivergent, and those who live with overthinking, people-pleasing, masking or a sense that the world was built for someone else.

Many clients arrive exhausted from holding everything together at work, in family life, in parenting or in silence. Some are dealing with chronic pain, invisible guilt and shame, or repeating patterns that no longer serve them. Michael offers a space that aims to go beyond quick fixes - a place to unmask, exhale and feel fully human again.

His approach is warm, grounded and real. People are never rushed, pathologised or talked down to. Sessions move at a pace that honours the nervous system, life circumstances and personal history. Work with Michael may include neurodivergent-affirming therapy and coaching, CBT tools for anxiety and executive dysfunction, support for rejection sensitivity and low self-worth, somatic and mindset strategies for chronic pain and nervous system regulation, and space to explore neurodivergent relationship dynamics, especially in mixed ND/NT partnerships.

Michael primarily works with neurodivergent men - including tradespeople, creatives, tech professionals and entrepreneurs - many of whom carry the emotional weight of family life, past trauma or the pressures of surviving in a neurotypical world. He also welcomes neurodivergent women and non-binary people, particularly those in relationships with neurodivergent men or those seeking a more honest therapeutic experience. Clients often say they feel seen for the first time, without needing to perform, explain or apologise.

He is a late-diagnosed AuADHD man who spent 30 years in IT, masking heavily and experiencing repeated burnout. He has lived through five burnouts, several suicide attempts and years of therapy that did not fully meet his needs. He has since trained as a therapist, coach and hypnotherapist and is creating the kind of space he needed in his own recovery.

Michael is a registered member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (NCPS), has 5+ years' experience as a counsellor and more than 15 years' experience in personal development coaching. He has completed specialist continuing professional development in neurodivergence, ADHD, autism, trauma, emotional regulation and chronic stress, and works 1:1 with clients on burnout, rejection sensitivity, identity, career change and unmasking.

He invites people who want to feel more grounded, clear and connected to begin that process together - there is no need to have everything figured out before starting.