The Belonging Dojo CIC

Our Mission, Services & Impact

 At The Belonging Dojo, our mission is to create spaces where Deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people can heal, learn, and belong.
We blend lived experience, therapy, advocacy, and holistic practice to nurture identity, confidence, and wellbeing — helping people feel seen, valued, and supported. 

We offer trauma-informed therapy, coaching, advocacy, training and workshops designed to heal the harm, educate the system, and empower the next generation.
Every service is rooted in belonging and psychological safety, created with and for the community we serve.

Through our work, schools become more inclusive, workplaces embrace accessibility, and individuals rebuild self-worth.
The Belonging Dojo is more than a service — it’s a movement for identity, equity, and collective healing across our community. 

We imagine a world where deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people no longer have to mask, explain, or shrink themselves to feel safe.
A world where difference is not just accepted — but honoured.
Where psychological safety is not an afterthought, but a foundation.
Where inclusion is not performative, but felt deep in the nervous system.

At The Belonging Dojo CIC, our vision is simple:
To create spaces — inner and outer — where people feel truly safe to show up as they are.
Because real belonging isn’t about fitting in. It’s about being seen, valued, and supported — without having to compromise your identity.

We are a registered Community Interest Company

 (Company number  16531089)

Kerry Tidman (Founder, Therapist & Coach)

Kerry Tidman is a mum of 3 and a grandma. She is also a trauma-informed holistic therapist, coach, TEDx speaker, and published author with a deep-rooted mission to create spaces where D/deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent people can heal, grow, and belong — exactly as they are.

As a deaf, neurodivergent, and care-experienced woman, Kerry’s work is shaped by lived experience and delivered with fierce compassion. Her approach blends Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Eastern philosophy, psychological safety, and the Japanese art of Kintsugi — seeing beauty in what has been broken and repaired with care.

Kerry began her journey working in the NHS and healthcare settings, supporting people through complex trauma and emotional overwhelm. She’s now the founder of The Belonging Dojo CIC, and a designated Safeguarding Lead at Martial Arts Success Schools founded by her husband in 2008 — where she also holds a black belt and teaches martial arts using the values of honour, courage, and self-awareness.

She worked as a school counsellor for three years in a secondary school in Sandwell, is an Advanced Bionics mentor, and frequently delivers training, talks, and therapeutic support across education and community spaces.

Kerry is the author of How Do You Deaf?, published with AVID Language, and was named Black Country Women’s Aid Woman of the Year 2024 for her commitment to advocacy, identity, and inclusion.

Her approach is holistic, person-centred, and unapologetically different. She doesn’t just deliver services — she walks beside people on their healing journey, helping them rediscover the gold that’s always been beneath the noise. Kerry prides herself on her unique approach to trauma-informed therapy, disability inclusion and disability inclusion in the workplace.