Christine Penwell, LPC

Christine Penwell is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) practicing in Tennessee who brings a practical, trauma-informed perspective to work with individuals, couples, and families. She has spent her career supporting families who are parenting children with neurodivergence and has experience across settings in Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee. Her clinical work centers on trauma and recovery, informed by a holistic understanding of how trauma shapes behavior, relationships, and development.

In session Christine prioritizes empathy, unconditional positive regard, and authenticity, drawing on the client-centered principles pioneered by Carl Rogers. She follows a client-led approach that recognizes each person as the expert on their own life while offering clinical guidance to help clients gain insight and build skills. Christine has provided individual, couple, and family therapy with a focus on attachment, parenting challenges, intimacy concerns, and the complex effects of trauma.

Her training includes developmental trauma approaches, Internal Family Systems, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Trust-Based Relational Intervention, Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy, along with introductory work in Emotionally Focused Therapy. Christine also holds certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics. This combination of modalities allows her to tailor care to each client’s unique history, goals, and strengths.

Integrating Therapeutic Approaches with Online Care

Christine uses client-centered therapy to create a respectful, nonjudgmental space where clients lead the pace and focus of sessions. This approach emphasizes empathy and unconditional positive regard, helping people explore their values, relationships, and personal goals. Attachment-Based Therapy is used to understand and repair patterns in close relationships - it helps with parenting concerns, intimacy-related issues, and family dynamics by focusing on how early bonds shape current connections. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) offers practical tools to identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors; it is well suited for addressing anxiety, stress, and coping with life changes.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. Christine will work with each client to determine which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences, adapting techniques over time as progress unfolds. Clients are invited to participate in planning so care aligns with their priorities.

Online therapy with Christine can take place by video call, phone session, live chat, or text-based messaging, offering flexibility for busy schedules and varied comfort levels. These options make it easier to access consistent support, continue work between sessions, and receive therapy from the locations that work best for each client.