Pennie Sheppard, BACP

Pennie Sheppard welcomes people seeking calm and clearer thinking during hard times. She works with individuals struggling with stress, anxiety, addictions, grief, anger and depression. She also helps those facing trauma, compassion fatigue, low self-esteem and major life changes.

Pennie uses plain conversation and steady guidance to help someone name what feels overwhelming. She adapts sessions to each person’s needs and pace. Sessions can include practical strategies, breathing and relaxation exercises, and chances to reflect on feelings and patterns.

With 15 years of experience, Pennie draws on several ways of working to match what a person needs. She holds BACP which indicates membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Her background also includes therapeutic body psychotherapist work that links physical sensations with emotional material.

People often come with long-term illness, neurodiversity or complex trauma and want help managing day-to-day life. Pennie supports exploration of dissociation, attachment and communication difficulties alongside more common concerns such as addiction or chronic pain. She tailors discussions and practical tools to the situation presented.

Sessions are offered online in formats that suit different lives. The initial steps are simple and paced to the individual. The aim is steady progress rather than quick fixes, with an emphasis on self-awareness and coping skills that can be used between sessions.

Therapeutic approaches and how they work online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult feelings without getting stuck in them and then take steps towards a life that matters to them. It can be useful for anxiety, stress and coping with long-term health issues. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new ways of thinking and acting; it is often used for anxiety and depression. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) centres on understanding and expressing emotions more clearly, which can help with grief, attachment and relationship-related distress.

Finding the right way of working is part of the therapeutic process. The counsellor will talk with each person about their goals, preferences and what feels most helpful. Together they decide whether to use ACT, CBT, EFT or a blend of approaches and they review progress as they go.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to fit different needs. Video works well for face-to-face conversation, phone is useful when bandwidth is limited, live chat can suit short check-ins, and messaging helps people who prefer to write. These options make it easier to fit therapy into work, caring duties or other commitments while keeping a steady therapeutic routine.