Therapist profile
Penelope "Penny" McBride, LCSW
LCSW - Family and parenting focus
Continue with PenelopeAbout
- Attachment work
- CBT strategies
- DBT skills
About Penelope
Penelope "Penny" McBride is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in New York with 26 years of experience. She works with adults on stress, anxiety, addictions, family concerns, trauma and abuse, depression, and parenting difficulties. Penny helps people manage mood disorders and relationship tension while addressing practical life changes and career stress.
She uses a client-centered style that focuses on clear conversations and practical steps. Sessions often look at attachment patterns and how early relationships shape current reactions. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques are used to identify unhelpful thoughts and test new behaviors. Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills can be added to build emotion regulation and distress tolerance.
Penny pays attention to family-of-origin issues and patterns that repeat across generations. She supports people dealing with grief, caregiver stress, codependency, and problems around commitment and communication. Work with parenting concerns includes problem solving around routines, boundaries, and stress management for caregivers.
Her approach combines listening with hands-on strategies. That can mean setting small goals, practicing new skills between sessions, or mapping steps to reduce substance-related harms. The focus is on what people can do differently in daily life to feel steadier and more able to cope.
Sessions are grounded in real-world concerns such as work strain, relationship breakdowns, and the challenges of raising children. Penny works with adults aiming to reduce overwhelm, improve relationships, and regain day-to-day functioning.
How sessions work
How her approaches translate to online work
Penelope commonly draws on Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in her practice. Attachment-Based work looks at how early relationship patterns influence current reactions and helps people notice those patterns in daily life. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes clear listening and collaboration so the person sets the pace and goals. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and testing small behavioral changes to reduce anxiety or low mood.Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the work. Penny will review concerns, goals, and preferences and then suggest which methods to emphasize. That decision is made together and can change as progress is made or circumstances shift.
The practical benefits of online sessions include fitting appointments into busy schedules and reducing travel time. Confirm which session formats are offered before booking, as they are not listed here. Many people find online conversations make it easier to keep regular check-ins, practice new skills between meetings, and keep therapy integrated with everyday responsibilities.
Areas of focus
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
26+ years
Listed in
New York
Languages
English
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What issues does she help with at home?
She helps adults address stress, parenting strain, family conflict, relationship problems, anxiety, depression, and addiction-related concerns.
What is her therapeutic style?
She uses client-centered, practical work with elements of attachment-based therapy, CBT, and DBT to combine listening with skills and problem solving.
How much experience does she have?
Penny has 26 years of clinical experience working with adults on a wide range of emotional and family-related issues.
What are her credentials and location?
She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensed in New York and practices from that state.
Can she see people who do not live in the US?
Sessions are offered in English and she is not accepting international clients at this time.
What session formats does she offer?
Session formats are not specified here; please confirm current online session options before booking.
How are costs handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
How do I begin working with her?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If anyone is in danger, use the crisis numbers.