![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/43a88e_2e1c2e65fbb648c8867cca26ad2f6a04~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1920,h_1080,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/43a88e_2e1c2e65fbb648c8867cca26ad2f6a04~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/43a88e_2e1c2e65fbb648c8867cca26ad2f6a04~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/43a88e_2e1c2e65fbb648c8867cca26ad2f6a04~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg)
![Dido Blagden, Life Coach and Counsellor](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/43a88e_a9227fd9de124db89a5a8bd5668713fe~mv2_d_2953_2362_s_2.jpg/v1/crop/x_203,y_0,w_2362,h_2362/fill/w_300,h_300,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/43a88e_a9227fd9de124db89a5a8bd5668713fe~mv2_d_2953_2362_s_2.jpg)
ABOUT ME
Certified Counsellor & Life Coaching Professional
All my adult life, as a lecturer, teacher, mentor, creative visionary and philanthropist, I’ve been empowering people to break through the obstacles that seem to be holding them back in their lives.
After a series of crises in my own life, I realised that experience is indeed the mother of all Wisdom. Surviving and indeed thriving, cannot be learnt from any book, I CAN trumps IQ, every time! It comes from TAKING BACK your power, taking back the responsibility to empower your own change. This comes from recognising and REALising your own resilience, courage and strength and releasing the self-limiting and self defeating thoughts that prevent you from fulfilling your own potential. It's about Letting go of baggage - that which no longer serves you (whether it's having been victimised, a dead end career, failed relationships) and instead, striving for happiness, peace, purpose, meaning and fulfilment.
I studied Psychology and am a qualified and certified Counsellor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (including advanced certification in Complex PTSD, Human Trafficking and Sexual abuse and exploitation)
Certified Family Trauma Professional, CBT Counsellor, NLP Master Practitioner, Life Coach, and Tarot Card Reader.
Allow me, using a multi-disciplinary proactive, Trauma-informed approach to support you on this part of your journey towards living your most authentic life of purpose and finding joy and peace and your place in the world where you make a difference and are valued. It is time to Let go of baggage, don’t let it become luggage (so much of it is not yours to carry anyway). Every second is a second chance to reinvent yourself and transform your life. Leave the tepid comfort zone, that stagnant rut, whether it's a dead-end relationship, unfulfilling career or something you long for but are too afraid to seek. It is time to transform your life from ordinary to EXTRAordinary.
Having worked with many organisations, institutions, professionals and individuals I realised there are 3 core areas of struggle:
-
Self worth - recognising your own unique value and values. I use a strength-focused approach which centres on your unique experience and strengths. You are not "sick" or "crazy" - you are a product of what has happened to you and how you dealt with it. The focus is on empowerment and building resilience, effecting communication and coping strategies and supportive networks thereby fostering a sense of competence and confidence.
-
Relationships– Intimate/ significant relationships are the cornerstone to our lives and the quality of our lives is only as good as the quality of the relationships we keep.
-
Safety and Belonging – knowing that we matter, make a difference and are appreciated. We need both roots and wings.... roots to stay grounded and wings to be courageously creative.
Here are some of the ways I endeavour to help clients to take back their power and to transform their own life from ordinary to extraordinary.
-
Recognise your own unique strengths, coping strategies and creative talents - they have already got you this far in life.
-
Gain awareness and insight into your self-limiting beliefs and less adaptive habits and behaviours and consciously choose more resilient and effective coping strategies and skills
-
Go from being an actor on the sidelines of your life to being the director of your own movie, the master of your own destiny and an innovator not an imitator.
-
Break the Cycle of Abuse - empowerment is not about POWER but rather courage, resilience, humility, setting healthy boundaries.
-
Go from feeling unsafe, disconnected or displaced to empowering yourself (developing competence, confidence and resilience) and building the support network you need to feel safe , valued and worthwhile.
-
Go from a place of pain, guilt and regret (depression) or worry and fear (anxiety) to a place of courage, joy and abundance in the here and now.
-
Fulfil your own authentic potential and destiny with courage, joy and purpose, living life with gratitude and hope (not in fear and regret)
.___________________________________________________________________________________
Tarot Card Reading is an intuitive tool I use to help, heal, empower, enlighten, and mentor my clients. It is guided by Source, (God, Higher Self, Christed Consciousness, The Creator, Mother Nature, Isness...) with love, light and hope; with the benevolence of the universe and the divinity that lives within; and only for the highest and greatest good and in accordance with Divine Will to help my client become aware, enlightened and fully illuminated with love and compassion on their life journey.
As above, So below! As within, so without! And so it is - Amen
___________________________________________________________________________________
Having been involved as a counsellor, volunteer, educator, and care giver at different times in my life I have grown from simply wanting to 'be the change I want to see' and 'being a voice for the voiceless' to GIVING a voice to the voiceless and empowering empaths to continue to do the good that they do. I have not only experienced, but have also seen the effects of "the cost of caring" which is an occupational hazard for many helpers, healers, frontline responders and carers- Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Traumatisation (sometimes insidious, sometimes devastating). The COMFORT PROJECT aims at both building and restoring Compassion Fortitude and resilience in people in caring/ helping/nurturing professions or roles. My heart is always with the empaths, the altruists, the humanitarians, the philanthropists, the healers, the teachers, the nurturers, the front line responders and the visionaries!
.___________________________________________________________________________________
Click this link to view my qualifications and certification
.___________________________________________________________________________________
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/43a88e_2e1c2e65fbb648c8867cca26ad2f6a04~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/43a88e_2e1c2e65fbb648c8867cca26ad2f6a04~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg)
Be the change you want to see.
Become a person you'd be proud to know.
Minimise regret, rather than risk...
DARE TO BE
EXTRAORDINARY
Feeling lost or trapped? At a crossroads in your relationships or emotional development? Even the strongest among us can feel stuck, unsure, ambivalent, or unhappy at times.
I (DIDO BLAGDEN : Life Coach & Counsellor) thrives on empowering and transforming ordinary people to reach their extraordinary potential.. Building on your own unique talents, strengths, skills and resilience which has already got you so far in life, my vision is to empower you to understand and manage whatever life throws at you, locate your intrinsic value(s) and live an authentic and intentional life of joy and purpose.
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_654f35c7185a47dc81b77dbc49ecb8daf000.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/11062b_654f35c7185a47dc81b77dbc49ecb8daf000.jpg)
TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACH
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/43a88e_2e1c2e65fbb648c8867cca26ad2f6a04~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_924,h_520,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/43a88e_2e1c2e65fbb648c8867cca26ad2f6a04~mv2_d_2560_1440_s_2.jpg)
![Sunrise](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d9e0153d9a2f4a57a047bbf9ae97f6e1.jpg/v1/fill/w_624,h_468,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/d9e0153d9a2f4a57a047bbf9ae97f6e1.jpg)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/43a88e_0b4f99d081444a31aae7a069593b8fd2~mv2.gif)
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/43a88e_cc5061e681584e879dc844e2ab70f5b2~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_204,h_39,al_c,lg_1,q_80,enc_auto/43a88e_cc5061e681584e879dc844e2ab70f5b2~mv2.jpg)