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LPC

Christine Penwell, LPC

  • Experience7 years
  • LocationTennessee
  • Focus areasRelationship, Family, and Trauma and abuse
  • Therapy approachesInternal Family Systems and Attachment-Based Therapy
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About Christine

Christine Penwell is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) based in Tennessee who supports people navigating relationship stress, family challenges, trauma and abuse, parenting concerns, life transitions, anxiety, and issues around intimacy and self-esteem.

Background and approach

With seven years of clinical experience, she has worked across multiple states and brings a trauma-informed, empathic approach to helping clients build insight, safety, and coping skills. She often integrates person-centered attitudes of empathy and unconditional positive regard with practical strategies drawn from evidence-based therapies.

Her style emphasizes collaboration and respect for each person’s expertise about their own life. Christine uses a mix of approaches tailored to the client’s needs, including Internal Family Systems, attachment-focused ideas, cognitive behavioral techniques, and emotion regulation skills.

She also draws on solution-focused and developmental trauma concepts when relevant. Her background includes work with families and clients facing neurodivergence, complex trauma responses, attachment concerns, and a wide range of related issues such as abandonment, adoption and foster care, dissociation, domestic violence, and hoarding.

Sessions are offered through a variety of online formats and Christine aims to support practical change alongside deeper relational and emotional healing.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online care

Christine integrates Internal Family Systems and Attachment-Based Therapy into her online work. Internal Family Systems helps clients notice and relate to different parts of themselves - for example protective or wounded parts - and can be useful for trauma responses, self-criticism, and internal conflict. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns of relating and safety in close relationships, focusing on rebuilding trust and improving communication when attachment wounds are present.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process. She collaborates with clients to identify goals and preferences, then blends methods to match those aims rather than relying on a single technique. Clients help guide which tools feel most useful, and plans are adjusted as insight and needs evolve.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging, which offer flexibility for people with busy schedules or geographic limitations. These options let licensed professionals provide consistent care, practice skills between sessions, and maintain momentum during life transitions or periods of limited availability.

Frequently asked questions

What concerns does Christine work with most often?
She addresses relationship and family difficulties, trauma and abuse, parenting challenges, stress and anxiety, intimacy and self-esteem issues, career and coaching concerns, and ADHD-related struggles.
What is the general therapeutic style used in sessions?
Her style is client-led and grounded in empathy, unconditional positive regard, and authenticity, aiming to follow the client’s lead while offering insight and practical tools.
What experience does she bring to therapy?
Christine has seven years of experience and has provided individual, couple, and family therapy across multiple states, with particular experience supporting families parenting neurodivergent children.
What credentials and location should I know about?
She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with the credential TN LPC 7336 and practices from Tennessee.
Can sessions be conducted in other languages or internationally?
Sessions are offered in English, and she is not currently accepting international clients.
Which session formats are available for online work?
Client interaction options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to accommodate different preferences and schedules.
How are fees and payment structured?
Cost varies with location and therapist availability; sessions are provided through a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What steps are required to begin therapy?
To start, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to therapist availability.

Areas of expertise

Primary focus

Relationship issuesFamily conflictsTrauma and abuseParenting issuesCoping with life changes

Also works with

Stress, AnxietyIntimacy-related issuesSelf esteemCareer difficultiesCoachingADHD

Additional focus areas

AbandonmentAdoption and foster careAttachment issuesAutism and Asperger SyndromeCommitment issuesCommunication problemsDisruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)DissociationDivorce and separationDomestic violenceFamily of origin issuesFamily problemsForgivenessGuilt and shameHoardingImpulsivityInfidelityIntellectual disabilityIsolation / lonelinessLife purposeMen's issuesMidlife crisisMoney and financial issuesObsessions, compulsions, and OCDPanic disorder and panic attacksPhobiasPost-traumatic stressPregnancy and childbirthPrejudice and discriminationProcess addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)Self-harmSexual assault and abuseSexual dysfunctionSexualitySocial anxiety and phobiaWomen's issuesWorkplace issues

Therapeutic approaches

Attachment-Based TherapyClient-Centered TherapyCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)Motivational InterviewingSolution-Focused TherapyTrauma-Focused TherapyInternal Family Systems

Experience

7+ years

Licensed

Tennessee

Languages

English