About
Lee Martin
Counsellor and Accredited EMDR Therapist in Porthleven, Cornwall
Helping men move beyond survival and towards a life that feels calmer, more meaningful and more like their own.
Finding a Counsellor
If you’re reading this page, you’re probably trying to decide whether I’m the right therapist for you.
That’s an important decision.
Over the years, I’ve come to believe that therapy isn’t really about techniques.
It’s about relationships.
It’s about finding someone you feel comfortable enough to be yourself with.
Someone you trust.
Someone who understands what life can feel like when you’ve been carrying too much for too long.
So before we ever meet, I’d like to tell you a little about who I am, why I became a therapist and what you can expect if we work together.
I don’t want other men to wait as long as I did
People often ask why I specialise in working with men.
The honest answer is that I know how difficult life can be, and how hard it can feel to ask for help.
For years, I lived with anxiety, self-doubt and a fear of responsibility.
I avoided difficult conversations.
I kept things to myself.
I convinced myself I should be able to deal with everything on my own.
Change really is possible
Looking back now, I realise I wasn’t weak.
I was doing what many men do.
Trying to hold everything together.
Eventually, I discovered something that changed my life.
Life didn’t have to stay that way.
I don’t want other men to spend years believing they simply have to get on with it before discovering that change really is possible.
The moment everything changed
Before becoming a counsellor, I worked in education and later in drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
It was there that I saw something that changed the direction of my life.
I watched colleagues build genuine relationships with people who were at some of the lowest points in their lives.
They weren’t trying to rescue people.
They weren’t trying to fix them.
They listened.
They understood.
They helped people believe that change was possible.
When I asked how they’d learned to work like that, they all gave the same answer.
They’d trained as counsellors.
I signed up almost immediately.
I’ll never underestimate how much courage it takes to send that first email or walk into a therapy room
Then my own anxiety got in the way.
I drove halfway to my first counselling course, turned the car around and went home.
At the time, I simply couldn’t walk through the door.
After spending time working on my own anxiety, I enrolled again.
That decision changed my life.
It’s one of the reasons I’ll never underestimate how much courage it takes to send that first email or walk into a therapy room.
Why I work with men
After years of working with men, I’ve realised something.
Most men aren’t struggling because they don’t care.
They’re struggling because they care deeply.
They want to be good dads. Good partners. Good friends. Good sons.
They want to provide, protect and hold everything together for the people they love.
But somewhere along the way, they’ve stopped looking after themselves.
One sentence I hear time and time again is:
“I should be able to deal with this”
I don’t believe that.
I believe everyone needs support at different points in life.
I also believe asking for help is one of the bravest things a person can do.
Male suicide rates remain heartbreakingly high.
If I can play even a small part in helping more men feel understood, ask for support earlier and build the life they want to live, then that’s work I’ll always be proud of.
What it’s like to work with me
Many men arrive expecting therapy to feel awkward.
They imagine sitting opposite someone who quietly analyses everything they say.
That isn’t how I work.
Sometimes we’ll spend the first few minutes talking about football, music, or whatever helps you settle into the room.
If you’re wearing a Batman T-shirt, don’t be surprised if we end up talking about Batman before we get anywhere near the difficult stuff.
You don’t have to know the right words.
You don’t have to impress me.
You don’t have to tell me everything in the first session.
We’ll work at a pace that feels right for you.
There will be serious conversations.
There will often be laughter too.
You don’t have to know the right words
Clients regularly tell me they were surprised by how relaxed, down-to-earth and genuine therapy felt.
That’s exactly how I hope it feels.
Looking beneath the surface
One of the things I enjoy most about therapy is helping people understand themselves.
When someone comes to me with anxiety, anger or low mood, I don’t just see the symptoms.
I wonder what’s underneath them.
Sometimes anxiety is trying to protect us.
Sometimes anger is protecting hurt, shame or grief.
Sometimes perfectionism is protecting self-worth.
Sometimes staying busy is protecting painful emotions we’ve never really had the chance to process.
When we begin to understand those patterns, life starts to make more sense.
And when life makes more sense, people begin moving towards the life they really want to live.
Why EMDR became such an important part of my work
As my practice developed, I wanted to offer more than talking therapy.
I wanted to help people feel less burdened by the past.
That’s what led me to EMDR.
One of the most rewarding moments in my work is watching someone realise that a memory which has affected them for years no longer carries the same emotional weight.
People often look at me afterwards and simply say,
“That was weird”
Then they smile.
Because something has shifted.
The memory is still there.
But it no longer feels as though it’s controlling their life.
Watching those moments never stops amazing me.
The experiences that shaped me
My own life has shaped the therapist I am today.
Like many of the men I work with, I’ve experienced anxiety, self-doubt, trauma and painful life experiences that changed the way I saw the world.
The most significant was losing my son, Ray.
That loss changed me forever.
It also deepened my understanding of grief, trauma and what it means to keep moving forward when life doesn’t go to plan.
Those experiences don’t mean I know exactly what you’re going through.
Nobody can.
But they do mean I understand how overwhelming life can become and how important it is to feel genuinely understood.
That’s where the name There Is A Light Therapy comes from.
Because no matter how dark life feels, I genuinely believe there is always hope.
Sometimes we can see it.
Sometimes we can’t.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Sometimes we simply need someone to help us find it again.
What men often tell me after their first session
One of the biggest worries I hear before we meet is:
“I don’t know what to expect.”
That’s completely understandable.
Many men imagine therapy will feel awkward or uncomfortable.
More often than not, they tell me something very different…
“I thought that was going to be much more awkward.”
“You’re much more down-to-earth than I expected.”
“I actually feel understood.”
“It felt more like a conversation than therapy.”
“I already feel a bit lighter.”
“I wish I’d done this sooner.”
Those comments matter because they tell me we’re starting where good therapy always begins.
With trust.
What you won’t get from me
You won’t be judged.
You won’t have to know exactly what to say.
You won’t be expected to talk about things before you’re ready.
You won’t just be left talking while I quietly nod.
You won’t be treated like a diagnosis.
You won’t be told how to live your life.
What you will get is someone who genuinely wants to understand your world
Someone who’ll support you through the difficult moments.
Someone who’ll celebrate your progress.
Someone who’ll help you move towards the life you want to build.
Outside the therapy room
Outside work, I’m a husband and dad.
Some of my happiest moments are spent with my family by the sea in Porthleven, watching my boys explore the rocks and reminding myself just how quickly life passes.
I’m a lifelong football supporter, I love music, still enjoy playing the guitar and probably spend more time than I should reading about psychology, neuroscience and new developments in therapy.
My children constantly remind me to notice the moments that really matter.
That philosophy shapes my work just as much as my professional training.
Qualifications & Professional Development
I’m an Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and an Accredited EMDR Therapist.
My professional training includes counselling, CBT, EMDR, trauma therapy, baby loss, OCD and clinical supervision.
I continue to undertake regular professional development because I believe good therapists never stop learning.
Read more about qualifications, accreditations & professional memberships
Accreditation
- EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner
- Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
Qualifications
- CPCAB Level 4 Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling
- Postgraduate Certificate in Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- EMDR Europe Training (Parts 1, 2 & 3)
- Certificate in Clinical Supervision
Specialist Training
- SANDS Baby Loss Counselling Training
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
- DASH Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment Training
Ongoing Professional Development
Regular continuing professional development in:
- EMDR
- Trauma and PTSD
- Men’s Mental Health
- Anxiety Disorders
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Grief and Baby Loss
- Neuroscience and Positive Neuroplasticity
Professional Experience
Over 10 years’ experience supporting people across education, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, counselling and trauma therapy.
Professional Memberships / Profiles
- British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
- EMDR Europe
- SANDS
- Psychology Today
- Counselling Directory
- Bupa Recognised Provider
My hope for every man who walks through the door
If there’s one thing I hope every client leaves believing, it’s this:
Things can change.
The past doesn’t have to keep deciding your future.
You don’t have to carry everything on your own.
It’s about understanding yourself more deeply, feeling less burdened by the past and moving towards the life you want to live.
I believe you’ve probably been doing the best you could with what you’ve had.
No matter how difficult life feels today, I genuinely believe there is always hope.
Things Can Change
Sometimes we can see it.
Sometimes we can’t.
But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Sometimes we simply need someone to help us find it again.
Still His Dad
A Fathers' Story of Baby Loss
Ray was only seven weeks old when he died.
This is the story of those seven weeks, and everything that came after.
When Lee Martin’s son Ray was born with complex heart defects, Lee and his wife Steph were suddenly thrown into a world of hospitals, machines and impossible decisions. For six weeks they lived beside Ray’s hospital bed in Bristol, hoping the next surgery would save him.
Then everything changed.
In this deeply honest memoir, Lee shares what it is like to lose a child as a father. The helplessness of watching your baby fight for life. The moment you are told there is no brain activity. The unimaginable experience of holding your son as he takes his final breath.
But this book is not only about loss.
It is about what grief does to the mind.
How trauma can unravel even the strongest person.
And how, slowly and painfully, a family learns how to survive the impossible.
Ray’s story is heartbreaking, but it is also a story of love, fatherhood, resilience and legacy.
For any parent who has experienced baby loss, and for the fathers who often carry their grief in silence, this book offers something simple but powerful.
You are not alone.
Getting Started
Beginning therapy can feel difficult. To help get started, I offer a free (no-commitment) 15-minute phone consultation to answer any questions and help us determine whether we might be a good fit.