Dr Martin Stokley

Dip. Couns Dip. Theol BSc(Hons) MA MSc DPhil

Co-Director of the Counselling Department

Email: m.stokley@spurgeons.ac.uk

Mobile: 07917 905815

Martin has worked for Spurgeon’s College in various roles since 2013, as an Associate Theology Tutor, Course Director for Equipped to Minister, part-time Tutor in Practical Theology and Director for Lay Training. During this time he also offered teaching cover for the counselling tutors as and when required. From August 2020 Martin joined the Counselling Faculty to teach on the Level 4 Therapeutic Counselling Diploma. From 2023 Martin’s sole focus at the college is now on teaching counselling and working with others to develop the counselling department for the future of the professional counselling landscape.

Martin’s interest and involvement in counselling emerged when he was in his 20s after having some counselling himself whilst at University. He undertook a Christian counselling course run by Christian Counselling International in 1999-2000 and then counselled through a church counselling centre in Portsmouth for a short period. His counselling practice faded into the background whilst he trained to become a pastor in 2002. However, counselling as way of supporting people was never far from his mind. Whilst a pastor in Southport, Merseyside he spent a year as part of the management committee of a local counselling centre. After moving back to London, in 2011 Martin began studying the counselling Diploma at Spurgeon’s College. In 2014 he then went on to study for the MSc Therapeutic Counselling at the University of Greenwich where his dissertation looked at experiences of involuntary childless therapists.

Martin is an accredited member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). He has experience of working in bereavement and general counselling settings. He has also co-taught a bereavement counselling course for the trainees of a local bereavement counselling agency and offers monthly supervision groups in the agency.

As well as his counselling qualifications Martin also has a degree and PhD in physics (University of Portsmouth), as well as a Diploma and MA in Theology (Spurgeon’s College). Martin’s is also interested in how theology and counselling interact.