For games businesses
Confidential one-to-one therapy for your team, and neurodivergence training for staff and managers. From a therapist who spent twenty years in games and knows the people who make them.
Start a conversationWhy this matters for your studio
Around 18% of UK game developers identify as neurodivergent, according to Ukie's industry census, well above the figure for the wider workforce. That group includes some of your most capable people, and also the ones least well served by support designed for neurotypical staff. Studios that understand and properly support their neurodivergent employees tend to keep them, and get the best of what they can do.
Confidential therapy as a benefit works on a second front. In an industry where good people are hard to find and easy to lose, it shows your team their wellbeing is taken seriously, which helps you attract and keep them.
What I offer
A monthly retainer gives your staff confidential access to therapy with someone who understands their world. They book directly, sessions run online, and you pay a fixed monthly fee whether the block is used heavily or lightly. Best suited to small and mid-sized studios.
Additional sessions beyond the monthly block are £110 each. Sessions are pooled, so your team books from the block as needed. These are introductory rates while the programme establishes, and we'll always talk through what fits your studio rather than pushing a tier.
Practical sessions that help teams understand and work well with neurodivergent colleagues, and help managers support them properly. The aim is plain: your neurodivergent staff do their best work and want to stay, and the people around them know how to make that easier. Sessions can run for a whole team or be tailored for managers, from a general introduction to neurodivergence at work through to manager-focused sessions on getting the best from neurodivergent team members. I also run a session on burnout in games, on spotting it in a deadline-driven culture and what real recovery takes. Bespoke sessions are built around your studio.
| Format | Detail | Indicative fee |
|---|---|---|
| Intro talk | 60 to 90 minutes | £400 |
| Half-day training | A team or manager group | £750 |
| Bespoke training | Tailored to your studio | £1,100 |
| Full day | Multiple sessions | from £1,400 |
Why work with me
Most workplace wellbeing comes through platforms with a rotating pool of therapists who have never worked in your industry. I am one consistent person who has. I spent two decades in games before this, a decade as a senior journalist across consumer and trade press, then ten years in marketing, PR and communications, so your people never have to explain the work to me. My specialism is neurodivergence, which I also live with. The practical difference for a studio is support your people actually trust and use, rather than a benefit that sits unopened behind an app.
How confidentiality works
Support only works if your people trust that it is private. These are the boundaries that protect that.
About
I'm Dan Pearson. I spent two decades in the games industry, a decade as a senior journalist writing for both consumer and trade audiences, then ten years in marketing, PR and communications, before moving into therapy. Local Dialect is built on a neurodivergent-affirming approach using Transactional Analysis, and I have AuDHD myself.
For studios
A short, no-pressure conversation about your team and what would actually help, whether that is therapy, training, or both.
Email: hello@localdialect.co.uk