About Me

Thea Bourke Martin, JD E-YRT

Helping People Navigate One of Life's Biggest Decisions

For more than twenty years, I've helped individuals and families navigate conflict, relationship transitions, and divorce.

I began my career as a family law attorney, representing clients through some of the most emotionally and financially challenging experiences of their lives. While I was proud of the work, I became increasingly aware that the legal system was designed to resolve legal disputes—not to help families heal, communicate, or make thoughtful decisions about their future.

Too often, I watched intelligent, capable people become overwhelmed by fear, uncertainty, and conflict. They weren't just facing legal questions. They were navigating emotional upheaval, financial uncertainty, and one of the most significant decisions they would ever make.

I realized they needed more than legal advice. They needed someone who understood the whole picture.

That realization led me beyond the courtroom and into the study of mindfulness, conflict resolution, coaching, and human behavior. I trained as a mediator, became a certified life coach, and deepened my work through yoga, mindfulness, somatics, and the science of stress and emotional regulation.

Along the way, I experienced my own transformation. Like many high-achieving professionals, I had built a successful career but found myself disconnected from myself. Discovering mindfulness changed not only how I lived, but how I understood conflict, relationships, and the process of change. It reinforced something I had already begun to see in the courtroom: lasting transformation doesn't come from winning. It comes from making decisions that align with your values and the life you want to create.

Today, I bring those experiences together in one integrated approach.

My work combines the perspective of a former family law attorney with the skills of a coach, mediator, and mindfulness practitioner to help clients navigate the emotional, financial, and legal realities of relationship change.

I don't believe people should have to coordinate multiple professionals just to understand what comes next.

Instead, I help clients make sense of the whole picture, rebuild trust in themselves, and move forward with greater confidence.

Whether you're questioning your relationship, preparing for divorce, navigating the legal process, or creating your next chapter, my goal is the same: to provide thoughtful guidance that helps you make decisions you'll feel good about—not just today, but years from now.

Education, Training & Professional Experience

My approach is grounded in more than two decades of experience helping individuals and families navigate conflict, relationship change, and divorce. It draws on legal training, coaching, mediation, mindfulness, and neuroscience to provide practical, integrated guidance during life's most significant transitions.

Professional Background

• Juris Doctor, University of Connecticut School of Law

• Former Connecticut Family Law Attorney (20+ years)

• Certified Martha Beck Life Coach

• Certified Divorce Mediator

• Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500)

• Certified in Integrative Somatic Parts Work (Fran Booth)

Advanced Training

My work has been shaped by some of the most respected leaders in coaching, mindfulness, restorative yoga, and conflict resolution, including:

• Martha Beck

• Judith Hanson Lasater

• Yoganand Michael Carroll

• Cindy Lee

• Fran Booth

• Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health

• ParaYoga

Together, these disciplines have expanded my understanding of mindfulness, nervous system regulation, somatic awareness, transformational coaching, compassionate communication, and conflict resolution.

Professional Leadership & Affiliations

Throughout my career, I've been honored to contribute to organizations committed to improving the way individuals and families navigate conflict and relationship transition.

• Connecticut Council for Non-Adversarial Divorce, Trustee

• Divorce Solutions of Connecticut

• Collaborative Divorce Professionals of Fairfield County

• International Academy of Collaborative Professionals

• Academy of Professional Family Mediators

• National Association for Community Mediation

• Connecticut Bar Association – Family Law Section

• New Haven County Bar Association – Family Law Section

Service & Community Leadership

Giving back has always been an important part of my professional life. Over the years, I've served as a volunteer, trainer, facilitator, board member, mediator, and attorney for organizations dedicated to expanding access to justice, mediation, education, and family support.

Organizations include:

• Women & Family Life Center – Workshop Facilitator & Member, Board of Trustees

• Community Mediation, Inc. – Trainer & Mediator

• Statewide Legal Services – Volunteer Family Law Attorney

• Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) – Cooperating Attorney

Selected Speaking Engagements

In addition to working directly with individuals and couples, I've had the privilege of teaching attorneys, mediators, students, healthcare professionals, and community organizations on topics including conflict resolution, relationship decision-making, divorce, mindfulness, and emotional well-being.

Highlighted presentations include:

• Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health — Love Your Body, Feed Your Soul

• International Academy of Collaborative Professionals — International Conference Presenter

• American Academy of Divorce Mediators — National Conference Presenter

• Gateway Community College — Adjunct Professor of Mediation

A Personal Note

I know what it feels like to stand at a crossroads and wonder what comes next.

Whether you're questioning your relationship, navigating divorce, or rebuilding your life, these moments ask more of us than simply making the "right" decision. They ask us to become more honest, more courageous, and more connected to ourselves.

It is a privilege to walk alongside my clients during that journey.

I won't tell you what you should do. Instead, I'll help you slow down, understand the whole picture, and make decisions that reflect your values, your circumstances, and the life you want to create.

I don't believe success is measured by whether a couple stays together or divorces. I believe success is measured by whether people move forward with greater understanding, integrity, and compassion—for themselves, for one another, and for the family they are creating next.

My hope is that, long after we've finished working together, you'll leave with something even more valuable than answers.

You'll leave trusting yourself.

Because when we support the individual, we strengthen the family—whatever shape that family takes next.