Ellen Penny-Brookes , BACP

Ellen Penny-Brookes is a qualified counsellor with over five years of professional practice and advanced training in psychodynamic approaches. She earned a Masters degree with distinction in Psychodynamic Counselling from Essex University, an advanced postgraduate qualification that focused on understanding how early experiences and unconscious patterns shape present behaviour. She also holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Person-Centred Counselling from the University of East Anglia, reflecting additional training in an empathic, client-led way of working.

Ellen is registered and accredited with the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP), registration number 385502, and is qualified to work with adults, children and adolescents. In her private practice she offers consultations in person and also works remotely through video, voice calls and messaging, supporting a range of presenting concerns.

She regularly works with anxiety, burnout, low self-esteem, depression, relationship difficulties, trauma, loneliness, loss and grief, and issues relating to childhood and adolescence. Ellen uses psychodynamic thinking to explore the interacting motives and emotions that influence behaviour, while also drawing on person-centred principles to tailor dialogue and the therapeutic plan to each person’s needs.

Respectful, sensitive and compassionate in her approach, Ellen aims to guide, support and empower people as they work toward deeper understanding and more satisfying ways of living and relating.

Approaches that inform online support

Psychodynamic therapy explores how early relationships, unconscious patterns and emotional conflicts influence current thoughts, feelings and behaviours. It can help when repeated relationship difficulties, low self-esteem or unresolved past experiences feel limiting in daily life. Client-Centered Therapy, also called person-centred therapy, emphasizes empathic listening and collaboration, giving people space to explore their values and choices and often helping with anxiety, low confidence and life transitions. Trauma-Focused Therapy concentrates on understanding and processing traumatic experiences and their emotional effects, supporting recovery from abuse, loss and intense stress.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic journey and is determined collaboratively. Ellen works with clients to identify which methods best suit their needs, goals and preferences, adapting the balance of psychodynamic, person-centred or trauma-focused techniques as therapy progresses.

Online sessions by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging offer practical flexibility and accessibility. These options allow meetings to fit around work, family and life changes, enable continuity when in-person visits are difficult, and make it easier to maintain regular contact with licensed professionals and therapists who can support ongoing progress.