Eileen Martin, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

she/her/hers

Hello!

My name is Eileen Martin, owner, and therapist at the Center for Counseling and Healing. I happily walk this earth as an empath and you can often find me meandering in the woods to refuel. Of course, I will be toting my camera to capture what the light unearths along the way. I am a mom to three children and 4 littles call me Granny. My partner and I are parents to a stubborn, food motivated, yet sweet Shih Tzu named Cooper who often reminds us of the need for play!

Before starting my practice, I worked as a crisis counselor and advocate in different settings. I have assisted college students who experienced interpersonal violence and worked at a police station supporting families in crisis. My work at a domestic violence agency brought into focus the need for long term support for folks who have experienced verbal/emotional/physical abuse. I found myself feeling frustrated at the often broken system of providing short term care to a broader systemic problem of violence against women in our society. While I loved my work with survivors, I instinctively knew that long term support is needed for a survivor to have a chance to heal from their abusive experience. I have also worked as a grief counselor. That experience taught me a great deal. We experience loss in so many ways and connecting grief to the loss of self experienced in an abusive relationship was not a stretch. I knew I wanted to connect all of my experiences while offering a safe space for folks to share their stories and re-author their lives.

I hail from Central New York originally but have lived in many different states before making North Carolina my home in 1997. I received my BA in Psychology from Guilford College and my Master of Social Work degree from the University of New England in 2017. 

I am a Certified Family Trauma Professional and am trained in Traumatic Loss and Positive Psychology.

I was honored to be asked to provide information on healing and posttraumatic growth from domestic violence for this SELF magazine article. The article share survivors’ stories of reclaiming joy after abuse. It is a great read and reminder that healing is indeed possible! https://www.self.com/story/domestic-violence-survivor-joy