Grace Penman, ACA

Grace Penman is a counsellor and psychotherapist practising in Australia with four years of professional experience and an ACA credential, a professional counselling credential in Australia. She supports mixed-culture adults and immigrants, including people from the LGBTQIA+ community, as they navigate questions of identity, belonging and the practical challenges of adult life across cultures.

Grace often works with people who feel caught between family expectations and their own values, struggling to make choices that feel authentic while honouring their backgrounds. Those tensions can surface as anxiety, guilt, confusion or a lingering sense of not being enough, and she offers a compassionate space to explore how these feelings shape daily life and relationships.

She has particular experience helping people adjusting to study or work in a new country, raising children while balancing multiple cultural influences, or negotiating differences with a partner from another upbringing. These transitions frequently bring up loneliness, uncertainty and questions about where to belong.

Drawing on EMDR, Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and mindfulness-based somatic psychotherapy, she works gently with the ways cultural, relational and intergenerational wounds can be stored in the body and story. Her approach aims to help people reclaim their voice, honour all parts of themselves beyond external expectations and reconnect with a sense of who they truly are.

Therapeutic approaches for online support

Grace integrates Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy and EMDR into her practice, each offering different ways to work with emotional pain and life challenges. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without being driven by them, clarifying values and taking small steps toward a more meaningful life - it can be useful for anxiety, low mood and life transitions.

Attachment-Based Therapy focuses on how early relationship patterns shape current connections and emotional responses, helping clients rebuild safety and healthier ways of relating, which is particularly relevant for relationship, family and attachment concerns.

EMDR is an evidence-informed approach that supports processing of distressing memories and bodily-held trauma, often used when past events continue to affect present functioning and emotional regulation.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic journey and Grace works collaboratively with each person to identify what best matches their needs, goals and preferences. Appropriately qualified or registered professionals can adapt these methods to suit different situations and client comfort.

Online therapy by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging offers flexibility for people juggling work, family or relocation. These options make it easier to attend sessions from wherever is practical, maintain continuity during life changes and access consistent support without major disruption to daily routines.