Penny Gifford, LPC, LCPC

Penny Gifford is a licensed counselor with three decades of experience helping adults find steadier ground. She is an LPC and an LCPC who focuses on practical change in everyday life. Penny aims to create a collaborative, non-judgmental space where clients can learn skills and feel more empowered.

Penny works with a wide range of concerns, including stress, anxiety, addictions, depression, grief, relationship problems, and life transitions. She also addresses issues such as self-esteem, sleep and eating struggles, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and trauma and abuse. Her practice includes attention to family conflict, caregiver stress, codependency, and substance-related problems.

Her approach blends client-centered listening with directive, solution-focused work. She uses techniques drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy alongside motivational interviewing when change work calls for it. Sessions aim to teach concrete skills that clients can use between meetings.

Penny describes her style as warm but goal-oriented. She helps people set realistic steps and practices that fit daily life. Clients who want clear tools and steady support often find this approach useful.

With long experience in counseling, Penny draws on both humanistic and behavioral perspectives. She helps people recognize patterns, try new behaviors, and build small routines that add up to meaningful change. Prospective clients should confirm current session options before booking.

She offers services in English and practices in California.

Therapeutic approaches and what they do online

Penny uses client-centered techniques that prioritize listening and building an understanding of each person's goals. This approach helps people feel heard and clarifies what they want to change.

She also draws on cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and trying practical behavior changes. CBT is commonly used for anxiety, depression, and coping with life stresses because it emphasizes small experiments and homework between sessions.

Dialectical behavior therapy tools are part of her toolkit when emotion regulation and strong reactions become barriers to daily functioning. DBT skills teach ways to manage intense emotions, tolerate distress, and improve interpersonal effectiveness.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work together. Penny will collaborate with each client to decide which methods fit their needs, goals, and preferences, and she adjusts the plan as progress is made.

If you are considering online sessions, confirm the specific session formats available before booking since they are not listed in the profile. Online work can make it easier to fit appointments into a busy week, allow short check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time so skill practice fits into daily life. Licensed professionals can adapt CBT and DBT exercises to remote formats to keep therapy practical and goal oriented.