Our Counsellors - Dorchester Trust for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Below are the details of the practitioners who may have availability to see clients as part of DTCP low-cost counselling service. All of them are registered with one of the following:

The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy
The British Psychoanalytic Council
The UK Council for Psychotherapy
The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society

Hazel North

Hello, I’m Hazel North and I have thirteen years of experience working as a counsellor supporting people to make real and lasting positive changes to their lives.

I work with a whole range of issues including anxiety, depression, stress, self esteem, relationships, general health concerns, identity and learning differences associated with dyslexia and autism.

My training is integrative which means that I have the knowledge and skills to work holistically using different approaches depending on your individual needs and I am BACP Accredited. Clients (who currently range in ages from 11 – 88) find me warm, friendly, down to earth, trustworthy, understanding and totally non judgemental. I have worked as an adult education tutor teaching counselling and mental health awareness; am a qualified practitioner of creative writing for therapeutic purposes and a specialist dyslexia tutor.

I am passionate about mental health and how counselling can help people to live fulfilled, happier lives. As such, it’s so exciting to once again be working with the DTCP ( I previously volunteered with the charity for many years) and offering low cost counselling to those in real need. When I am not counselling I like being out an about in nature – hence my windswept photo!

Long term low cost therapy supports vulnerable and disadvantaged people to make significant and lasting changes to their lives. In the eight years I spent volunteering with DTCP I helped clients improve their emotional and physical wellbeing, regain their purpose in life and generally become happier, more fulfilled people. I know that for some clients this work can literally be life saving and I am passionate about long term therapy being affordable for all.

Tel: 07837 482727
Email: hazelnorth1@gmail.com

Naomi David – currently unavailable

I am an Accredited Psychotherapeutic Counsellor working with adults, young people, children and couples. I work with a variety of presenting issues e.g. bereavement, anxiety, depression, stress, relationship difficulties, PTSD, trauma, chronic pain and eating disorders. We can also work together if you aren’t sure what your problems are but you feel a warm, professional, non-judgemental and confidential space is what you need.

This opportunity has been a life line to my client as access to support has been completely unachievable otherwise.

Tel: 07540390168

Email: freshthoughtscounselling@gmail.com

Lal Hitchcock – currently unavailable

Having graduated from Newcastle Polytechnic in 1978 with a degree in Fine Art, I began my working life as a printmaker, making etchings on a mostly pastoral theme. But growing increasingly frustrated with the medium and the subject matter, I turned to fashioning discarded materials: broken china, rags, newspapers, and flotsam and jetsam into sculpture. Following my father’s death, in my mid-thirties, my personal life started to unravel, and I went into therapy. This transformative experience inspired me to begin my own training at BCPC (Bath Centre for Psychotherapy & Counselling) ten years later.

I am particularly drawn to loss of all kinds, and early in my training, I worked with Cruse, as a bereavement volunteer. I split my mental health placement between Rowan Ward, Yeovil, and the WATCH Project, Chard, volunteering as an art facilitator. Since qualifying as a psychotherapist in 2015, I have continued to broaden and deepen my understanding of mental health, volunteering with the British Red Cross as a co-facilitator of small psycho-social groups with asylum seekers at the Verne Immigration Removal Centre, Portland, and training to work in a range of fields, from the lasting effects of boarding school, to transgender issues, to feelings arising from the climate crisis.

Some people argue that therapy should be expensive; that the more people pay for it, the more they value it. But there’s a very simple counter-argument: “What if they simply can’t afford it?”

Being in therapy may be the first time such a person has felt seen, heard, accepted or understood, and the experience can be life changing, and sometimes life-saving.

A therapist’s job isn’t just to support, but also to gently challenge our clients’ beliefs, when they seem counter-productive or unhelpful. Doing this in a non-confrontational way can have a profound, sometimes transformational effect.

Tel: 01308 424519

Mobile (best for texts) 07906 204565

Email: lalhitchcock@hotmail.co.uk

Sandra Spenceley – currently unavailable

As an experienced Integrative Psychotherapist I work online and by telephone with adult clients for short term and open ended counselling and psychotherapy. At the heart of my approach is my belief that the relationships we have with ourselves and others have the potential to enrich and deplete our experiences of life.

When your body and mind are distressed, and symptoms prevail, therapy may give you the time and support to breathe, reflect and attend to your concerns. My broad training, which includes CBT, Psychodynamic and Humanistic approaches, as well as my interests in Mindfulness, meditation and Existentialism, means I can offer you a supportive relationship in which you can express yourself, release your concerns, learn coping strategies, and move towards living more fully in the present.

I believe that counselling and therapy can be life changing and everyone who can make use of talking therapies, and wants them, should have access. I offer a few low cost counselling/therapy places to support people who cannot ordinarily afford a standard fee.

Tel: 01305 853103

Email: Sandraespenceley@gmail.com

Alison Lee

Hello my name is Alison Lee, I offer low cost telephone or online counselling via DTCP. My approach is collaborative, offering a supportive and non-judgemental environment in which you can feel heard. Talking to a trained counsellor can make a huge difference and enable people to make positive change and face the future with greater confidence.

My practice is based on a psychodynamic model of counselling, which takes into account our past experiences as well as our present circumstances. By making links between our past and present we can begin to feel more in control and make informed decisions.

I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), having trained with the Westminster Pastoral Foundation (WFP).

Telephone :- 07850 451 433

Email :- alisonleecounselling@gmail.com

Jane Cross

My name is Jane Cross and I am an experienced counsellor/psychotherapist. I have worked in a variety of settings, including having my own Practice in London, as well as in Buckinghamshire, and for the past six years I am proud to be a listed member of the Dorchester Trust for Counselling and Psychotherapy team.

Over the years I have worked as a therapist in the NHS, and have also headed up a team of therapists in an EAP, that is an organisation who provide up to 6-8 sessions of short-term focussed support throughout the UK for people who are struggling to cope both within and outside of their work-places.

It’s my foremost aim to provide a sensitive and safe space where you can begin to feel really seen and heard without judgement. This is an important first step to creating both trust and hope that therapy can offer you a better understanding of your issues, whilst it may also offer you new ways of coping, managing, or even changing how you think or feel about these issues.

My particular focus has been in working with complex trauma, PTSD, often related to early childhood abuse, but I also work with a variety of clients with a range of concerns, including relationship difficulties, that can include challenging family circumstances, anxiety, depression, bereavement, chronic-post-viral illnesses, and with concerns that may arise specifically for men and women in their middle, or later years of life.

I offer telephone, or online short-term focussed counselling, usually up to six sessions, which can on occasion be reviewed for two more sessions if required. I can also refer you on to another therapist for longer term support should you request this.

I uphold the highest ethical boundaries of confidentiality in accordance with being a registered member of BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy.)

I trained and completed an Accredited Psychotherapy Training with Westminster Psychotherapy and Counselling in London, which gave me a thorough and wide-ranging foundation on which to build over these past years. If you would like to contact me with a view to considering some sessions, please telephone or email me in the first instance.

Telephone Number – 07961 811943

Email address: janecross71@gmail.com

Katie Ellis

My name is Katie and I am a relational integrative therapist with 9 years of face-to-face client experience. My qualifications include a therapeutic counselling diploma and a first class honours degree in child psychology, forensic psychology and mental health science. I am an Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and abide by their ethical framework for good practice.

I have a special interest in working with sexual trauma, adverse child experiences and historical abuse, and spent 3 years as a trauma therapist at Dorset Rape Crisis Support Centre (now STARS).

In 2016 I established my private practice at a quiet holistic health clinic in Blandford Forum, where I support private counselling clients with a range of concerns, including anxiety, depression, bereavement and relationship difficulties, alongside my trauma focused work. I also support clients who are unpaid carers via a contract with The Leonardo Trust.

I offer a free 30 minute introductory session, providing you with the opportunity to meet me before deciding whether you feel I am the right therapist for you, so please get in touch to arrange this.

Tel: 07955685021

Email: k-j-e-counselling@protonmail.com

Carina Scales

Psychodynamic Psychotherapist/EMDR practitioner

I have been working in private practice as a psychotherapist for 17 years. I am a highly experienced senior practitioner (my core training was for 7 years at WPF in London).

I aim to provide a safe, confidential and non-judgemental environment to talk about your concerns and problems. It’s a space to understand what might be going on for you at this moment in time, with a focus on how you feel and why you feel like you do.

I am very experienced in working with people with all sorts of symptoms including:

Anxiety and panic, (panic attacks), overwhelmed and depressed, perhaps feeling angry but not sure why, feeling alone, lonely, experiencing a negative inner critic, leading to low self esteem, which can and does restrict your everyday life. Of course it is possible that perhaps you just don’t know what is wrong at present, but something isn’t quite right.

Please contact me via Psychotherapist Carina Scales – Rickmansworth & Beaminster – Counselling Directory (counselling-directory.org.uk)

Gilly Russell – telephone only

Hi, my name is Gilly. I’m a psychodynamic counsellor and I work individually with adults.

I am registered with The British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and a member of The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

I offer low-cost telephone counselling via the DTCP. It is really important to me that therapy is available for all, and cost should not be a barrier for getting mental health support. Talking with a therapist can be the most positive decision for you and those closest to you.

We all experience difficult emotions and anxiety at times but if these feelings become constant or overwhelming it can leave you feeling concerned as to why you feel as you do. There may be something happening in your life currently, a situation, a place, a person maybe that you’re struggling to make sense of?

My counselling approach is psychodynamic, which means that I work in the following ways:

I believe that our thinking and behaviour is affected by certain things that we are not fully aware of; past experiences that are stopping you from moving forward in your present situations. Rather than remaining stuck they can be unravelled, talked about, allowing for growth and change.

This approach can offer understanding and meaning to situations that may be troubling you or causing you anxiety, anger or sadness. Working together in a supportive non-judgemental way will allow you to voice your feelings about things and give greater self-awareness, allowing you to make lasting, meaningful changes.

Tel: 07737 241845

Email: gillyrussell202@gmail.com