Pennie Brooks, LMHC

Pennie Brooks is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) with 42 years of experience helping people navigate difficult life events and emotional challenges. She holds a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree, is certified as a Clinical Hypnotherapist, and is recognized as a Certified Trauma Expert. Her long career spans acute care hospitals, rehabilitation centers, hospice settings, government-funded programs for at-risk youth, group practices, and an extended private practice, giving her a wide perspective on mental health care.

Pennie specializes in trauma, grief and bereavement, anxiety and depression, relationship concerns, self-esteem and life transitions, chronic illness and pain, brain and spinal cord injury, and recovery after abuse. She has substantial experience supporting LGBTQ+ individuals, single parents, men facing specific life challenges, and adults working through identity, loss, or major changes. She works with adolescents, adults, and older adults, adapting therapy to each person’s circumstances and goals.

Her style is compassionate, collaborative, and skills-based, focused on building resilience, uncovering meaning, and teaching practical tools for short-term coping and long-term growth. Pennie’s empathy is informed by lived experience with trauma, disability, chronic pain, and loss, and she approaches therapy as an ongoing partnership intended to help people feel seen, supported, and more empowered to move forward.

Therapeutic approaches and online care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them. It emphasizes clarity about personal values and small, committed steps toward a more meaningful life, which can be useful for anxiety, stress, and chronic health challenges.

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on providing an empathic, nonjudgmental environment where a person’s own insight and strengths drive change. This approach supports self-exploration and can be especially helpful for grief, relationship concerns, and self-esteem work.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) teaches practical skills to identify and change unhelpful thinking and behavior patterns. It is often used for anxiety, depression, anger, and coping with life transitions.

Pennie works collaboratively with each person to determine which approach or combination of approaches fits best based on needs, goals, and personal preferences. She treats the selection of methods as part of the therapeutic process and adjusts them as progress unfolds.

Online therapy with Pennie offers flexible access through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging. These options make it easier to fit therapy into busy schedules, support people with mobility or caregiving constraints, and allow ongoing connection between sessions while maintaining the same licensed professional relationship as in-person care.