Christine Penwell , LPC

Christine Penwell is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Tennessee who brings a trauma-informed, family-centered approach to therapy. With seven years of clinical experience, she has worked across Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee and has focused much of her practice on supporting families who are parenting children with neurodivergence. Her work includes individual, couple, and family therapy with particular attention to trauma, recovery, and the ways people respond to stressful or overwhelming experiences.

Christine grounds her practice in empathy, unconditional positive regard, and authenticity - principles drawn from Carl Rogers and client-centered theory. She follows a client-led model, helping people discover new insight while treating them as the experts on their own lives. Her training spans multiple modalities, including developmental trauma work, Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trust-Based Relational Intervention, Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy, with additional introductory training in Emotionally Focused Therapy.

She also holds certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, a developmental framework created by Dr. Bruce Perry that informs interventions for trauma and developmental disruption. Christine applies this diverse skill set to address relationship and family challenges, parenting concerns, trauma and abuse, anxiety, stress, intimacy and self-esteem issues, ADHD, and related life changes, tailoring care to each person and family she works with.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Care with Christine Penwell

Christine weaves several evidence-informed approaches into online work to meet a range of needs. Client-centered therapy emphasizes empathy, acceptance, and collaboration - the therapist follows the client's lead to help them explore their thoughts and goals, which can be especially helpful for relationship, self-esteem, and life-transition concerns.

Attachment-based therapy focuses on how early relationships shape current patterns of relating. It helps people understand and shift attachment dynamics that affect intimacy, parenting, and family interactions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) offers practical tools to identify and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns, often used for anxiety, stress, and coping with change.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the therapeutic process. Christine works collaboratively with each person or family to determine which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adjusting the plan as progress unfolds.

Online therapy offers flexibility in how care is delivered - through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging - making it easier to schedule sessions around life demands, maintain continuity during transitions, and access a licensed professional from home or work.