Ellen Penny-Brookes , BACP

Ellen Penny-Brookes is a qualified counsellor with more than five years of clinical experience, working with adults, children and adolescents. She holds a master's degree with distinction in Psychodynamic Counselling from the University of Essex, a postgraduate certificate in Person-Centred Counselling from the University of East Anglia, and is registered and accredited with the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP), registration number 385502. Her training combines psychodynamic thinking with person-centred principles to create a reflective and empathetic approach to therapy.

Ellen sees a broad range of presenting issues and regularly supports people experiencing anxiety, burnout, low self-esteem, depression, relationship difficulties, trauma, loneliness, loss and grief, and childhood or adolescent concerns. In practice she draws on psychodynamic ideas about how early experiences and unconscious patterns influence current feelings and relationships, alongside person-centred listening that prioritises the individual's perspective and pace.

She works from a private practice setting and offers consultations both in-person and remotely via video, voice call and messaging. Ellen aims to tailor conversations and treatment plans to each person's unique needs, offering guided support to help clients deepen self-understanding and move toward more satisfying and manageable ways of living.

Therapeutic Approaches and Online Support

Psychodynamic therapy explores how early life experiences and unseen patterns shape current feelings, choices and relationships. It helps people who want to understand recurring emotional difficulties, relationship patterns, low self-esteem or long-standing mood concerns by looking at underlying motives and emotional history in a thoughtful way.

Client-centred therapy prioritises the client’s own perspective and pace, offering empathic listening and support that helps people build self-trust and clearer personal goals. This approach is useful for those coping with grief, life transitions, anxiety, or a desire to strengthen self-worth.

Trauma-focused work concentrates on responses to distressing events and the ways those experiences affect daily functioning and relationships. It aims to reduce the impact of traumatic memories and support safer ways of relating to oneself and others.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and the therapist will work collaboratively with each person to identify what fits best based on needs, goals and preferences. Online therapy options such as video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging provide practical flexibility, making it easier to access regular sessions without travel and to choose formats that match comfort and scheduling needs.