Catherine Hodgson
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hi, I’m Catherine and I believe that everyone has the potential to overcome life’s challenges and live a fulfilling life. As an experienced counsellor with over 7 years of experience, I’m passionate about helping individuals navigate difficult times and create meaningful, lasting change. Whether you're struggling with anxiety, stress, depression, relationship issues, trauma, or life transitions, I’m here to support you with compassion, respect, and practical tools for growth. In our work together, you’ll experience a safe, non-judgmental space where you can be heard and understood.
I specialize in working with people who face challenges such as:
- Anxiety & Stress: If worry, panic, or constant stress are affecting your daily life, I can help you understand how and why these impact you so you can develop coping strategies and restore balance.
- Depression & Low Mood: Together, we’ll address negative thought patterns and work on building a more positive outlook and emotional resilience.
- Trauma & PTSD: Healing from past trauma is possible. I use evidence-based techniques like trauma-informed care to help you process and move forward.
- Relationship & Family Issues: Whether you're facing challenges in your marriage, with a partner, or within your family, we’ll work together to help you understand triggers and emotional upset to help you improve communication and build stronger connections.
- Grief & Loss: I help individuals navigate the grieving process and find ways to heal after a significant loss. Grief doesn’t only apply to deaths, it can also be experienced in the loss of a friendship, career, your mobility due to a health condition or even watching a loved one battling chronic disease.
- Life Transitions: Major life changes, such as career shifts, divorce, or parenting changes, can be overwhelming. I’ll guide you through this process with empathy and insight.
When you choose to work with me, here’s what you can expect:
- A Safe, Confidential Space: Therapy is a place for you to be yourself without judgment. I am here to listen deeply and create a trusting environment where you feel heard and respected. I don’t offer advice, or tell you what to do, I simply provide the time and space for you to explore your thoughts to allow you to make the decisions you feel are needed.
- Practical Tools & Strategies: I don’t just listen—I give you actionable tools to cope with difficult emotions, manage stress, improve communication, and develop healthier habits.
- Tailored Approaches: Every person’s journey is unique. That’s why I work in an integrated manner using a range of approaches to meet your specific needs, whether that’s through skills within Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Transactional Analysis or Person-Centred Work.
- Ongoing Support: Progress takes time. I’m committed to being there for you throughout your journey and as a private therapist I can offer the flexibility to increase or reduce sessions as needed and work in person or online to fit your schedule.
Taking the first step toward therapy is often the hardest, but it can also be the most empowering, to assist in finding if I am the right match for you I offer a Free Consultation where we can discuss your current concerns, challenges and we can develop a personalized plan to help you move forward.
I look forward to connecting with you and helping you create a life of greater peace, balance, and joy. You deserve to feel better, and together, we can make it happen.
Training, qualifications & experience
Training and Background
Counselling training is a continuous process and is an evolving practice. My training wasn’t just about learning theory; it included gaining real-world skills to help people navigate life’s tough moments with understanding, care, and practical tools. Here’s a bit about my journey and the approach I use in therapy:
- Academic Foundation - I earned my master’s degree in counselling and psychology from the University of Salford studying at Level 7 in 2017. Counsellors can be qualified from a range of level 4 – 7. Level 7 is the highest standard of training. I am acknowledged as an accredited member of the BACP (our governing body) which demonstrates that I have met rigorous standards to achieve this status and that I work in an ethical and competent manner.
- Specialized Training and Certifications - After completing my degree, I continued my learning through specialized training. This means I’ve taken additional courses and earned certifications in specific therapeutic methods like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Transactional Analysis and Solution Focussed Therapy. These are evidence-based approaches that are proven to help people cope with challenges like anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship struggles.
- Practical Experience - Beyond my academic studies, I’ve spent many years working with people in real-world settings. Whether in private practice, the NHS, education or charities, I have worked with a diverse range of clients, helping them with everything from managing stress and improving relationships to overcoming trauma and navigating major life changes.
- Ongoing Professional Development - Counselling is a field that is always evolving. I stay up to date with the latest research and techniques by regularly attending workshops, seminars, and conferences. This allows me to offer my clients the most effective, modern approaches to therapy, ensuring that the care I provide is always informed by the best available knowledge. I am currently completing a postgraduate certificate to offer supervision to counsellors and helping professionals.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Weight Management - I completed my MSc dissertation on the topic of Obesity, discussing whether it should remain being treated by a medical model, opposed to a combined approach of a psychological/medical model. I believe much of our weight loss/gain has emotive reasons and these are largely overlooked and not considered in the current way it is managed. If we wish to reach a healthy body ideal I believe we need to explore our emotions in relation to food and how events in our life help or hinder our relationship with food.
Therapies offered
Fees
£50.00 per session
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Sessions are £50 payable by cash, bank transfer or standing order.
When I work
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- Early morning sessions available 6-7am
- Working hours Tuesday and Wednesday are 9-3pm
- Thursday evening session available 8.15 - 9.15pm
All sessions delivered online currently.
Further information
I use a blend of therapeutic techniques to support clients in ways that best suit their individual needs:
- Person Centred Counselling: emphasizes the importance of the therapeutic relationship and the idea that individuals have the capacity for self-growth, self-healing, and personal development when provided with the right conditions.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helps you identify and challenge negative thought patterns, creating more positive and realistic ways of thinking.
- Solution-Focused Therapy: We’ll focus on your strengths and find practical solutions to current challenges, helping you make tangible progress quickly.
- Mindfulness & Stress Reduction: Learn techniques to calm your mind, reduce stress, and improve emotional regulation through mindfulness and relaxation practices.
- Trauma-Informed Therapy: I approach all sessions with a deep understanding of trauma and its impact on mental health, using evidence-based practices to help you heal.
Why choose me as your counsellor?
- Empathy & Compassion: I truly care about my clients and the challenges they face. I enjoy meeting my clients and helping them understand their story, it is an absolute privilege to be let into someone’s world and I never tire of witnessing the changes and improvements in how people feel after a course of therapy.
- Proven Results: I’ve helped many clients make real, positive changes in their lives. My clients appreciate my practical approach and the lasting impact our work has had on their mental well-being. Clients have the flexibility to return for future sessions if needed and often feel reassured that I can be contacted again, already knowing and understanding them.
- Flexible & Convenient: I offer both in-person and online counselling sessions to fit your schedule and location. Therapy should be accessible, and I make it easy for you to take the first step in your journey.
