Dr. Penny Brower

Dr. Penny Brower uses practical, evidence-informed approaches to help people regain balance in their lives. She frames therapy as a collaborative process that focuses on clear choices, skill building, and real-world changes. Dr. Brower brings 34 years of experience to sessions and encourages feedback so methods can be adjusted to fit each person.

She draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and cognitive-behavioral ideas to help clients notice unhelpful patterns and try different responses. Attachment-based work and client-centered listening guide conversations about relationships and intimacy. The Gottman Method informs work around communication and managing conflict.

Her background includes in-home therapy with complex families, community mental health, private practice, and an eight-year role with the Air National Guard focused on suicide risk reduction and resilience. This variety shaped a flexible approach suited to stress, anxiety, depression, anger, relationship strain, and life transitions.

In sessions she helps people sort through the decisions and events that led them to feeling stuck. Practical tools and skills are taught and practiced, then adapted based on what the client reports is helpful. The emphasis is on making intentional choices rather than fitting someone into a label.

Dr. Brower holds the Illinois Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor credential. She works in Illinois and conducts therapy in English. People interested in starting are asked to use the site process to match and schedule a first appointment.

How her approaches fit into online work

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps clients notice thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then choose actions that match their values. This can be useful for stress, anxiety, anger, and big life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing new behaviors to reduce symptoms like anxiety and depression. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in relationships and helps people build different ways of connecting and responding to partners or close others.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will listen to the client's goals and struggles, try strategies, and adjust based on what helps. That collaborative process guides which methods are used and how they are blended.

Confirm the specific session options before booking, since this profile does not list formats. Online work can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy schedule, allow shorter check-ins when time is tight, and remove travel time. Sessions conducted at a distance still focus on practicing real-life skills between meetings so progress can be applied to everyday situations.