About me
Maybe you know exactly what's brought you here. Or maybe all you know is that something isn't working anymore. It could be a family relationship that's broken down, a voice in your head that tells you you're not good enough, or a pattern in your relationships that keeps repeating no matter how hard you try.
Working from The Practice Rooms on the High Street in Tunbridge Wells and online, I offer a space where you don't have to pretend everything is fine.
I am a BACP-registered integrative counsellor. I work with adults who feel stuck, disconnected, or as though they have been living a version of life shaped around other people’s needs, expectations, or fears.
You don't need to arrive with a clear story or a big crisis. My approach is collaborative and gentle. Together, we slowly make sense of what's been shaping you — the patterns, the hurts, and the beliefs about yourself that may no longer serve you.
I work with family estrangement, identity and belonging, difficult relationships, low self-esteem, and grief and loss — as well as trauma, shame, and the lasting effects of difficult childhoods, alongside general complaints like anxiety and depression.
My role isn't to tell you who to be, how to think or how to feel. It's to support you in discovering that for yourself — exploring the beliefs, judgements and ways of coping that have shaped you, making space for difficult feelings, and meeting who you find with acceptance and curiosity rather than criticism.
People come to me when they feel:
• Stuck in repeating patterns or self-sabotage in their relationships or daily lives
• Weighed down by family estrangement or a relationship breakdown.
• Lost, disconnected, or unsure of who they really are underneath other people's expectations.
• Exhausted from navigating the complex challenges of supporting a child with additional needs or neurodivergence.
• Overwhelmed by trauma or difficult experiences they've never had the room to properly process.
• Living with a harsh inner critic or never feeling good enough.
• Like their usual ways of coping are no longer working.
• Navigating cultural differences, identity, or belonging — and the quiet friction of feeling "between worlds."
• Facing a major life transition and feeling deeply uncertain about the future.
• Navigating grief following a serious illness or chronic health condition — grieving a body, a future, or a sense of certainty that used to be there.
• Grieving a profound loss — whether that is a person, a relationship, a role, or a version of themselves.
I have a particular place in my heart for parents of children who are different, have additional needs, or are neurodivergent — whether formally diagnosed or not. I know that world from the inside, and I understand the unique exhaustion and complex emotional landscapes that come with it.
Born in Prague and living in the UK for over 25 years, I also deeply understand the experience of navigating between worlds — figuring out who you are when the culture you grew up in, the family you came from, and the life you're living now all pull in different directions.
What kind of life do you actually want — and what's getting in the way of living it?
That question sits at the heart of everything I do.
I work with curiosity, compassion, and a deep respect for your pace. There's no pressure to be anyone other than who you are on the day you walk in.
I offer a free 30-minute initial consultation by phone or video — a chance to get a feel for each other and see if working together feels right. There's no obligation on either side.
You can find more information and all the practical details on my website, but if something here has quietly spoken to you, I’d love to hear from you.
www.martinakirkland.co.uk
Training, qualifications & experience
Training
- Level 6 Diploma in Humanistic Integrative Counselling - (Dunamis Therapy Hub)
- Certificate in Counselling - (Dunamis Therapy Hub)
- Foundations of Modern Psychology and Research Methods - (Birkbeck University Faculty of Continuing Education)
Further Training
Continual training and professional development in the areas of Trauma, Sexual Abuse Trauma, Suicide and Self-harm prevention, Grief and loss.
Experience
Private Practice: Offering confidential and supportive counselling.
MIND: Supporting clients with various mental health challenges.
EAP work: Providing short-term therapy through employee assistance programmes.
Hospice: Providing compassionate support to patients, caregivers, and bereaved families.
Member organisations
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
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£60.00 - £80.00
