Dr Tom Pennybacker is a founder and medical director of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic. He qualified as a medical doctor in 1999, initially working in physical health before specialising in psychiatry. He went on to complete in-depth training in psychotherapy at the Tavistock Clinic, developing specialist expertise in combining psychological interventions with medication. Dr Pennybacker’s career has taken him through clinical leadership roles in the NHS, where he led a team delivering complex psychiatric and psychological care to individuals with severe mental disorders, and into private practice, providing assessment and treatment for a wide range of mental health difficulties.
In his clinical practice, Dr Pennybacker brings an integrative psychiatric approach, combining medication management with psychotherapeutic principles. He draws on training in psychotherapy and mind-body interventions, with a particular focus on enhancing both psychological and physical wellbeing. He tailors treatment plans to the individual, integrating medical, psychological, and lifestyle strategies to address complex mental health needs.
Dr Pennybacker works with individuals experiencing depression, anxiety, stress, bipolar disorder, psychosis, personality disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), trauma and PTSD, emotional dysregulation, sleep difficulties, chronic pain, substance misuse, addiction, and relationship difficulties, and has specialist experience in complex psychiatric care, integrated medication-therapy approaches, and mind-body interventions.
Dr Pennybacker has previously taken a lead role in teaching medical students and psychiatrists while working in the NHS and at University College London. He has also been involved in research projects developing our understanding of how the brain functions in mental disorder and was the Assistant Editor of the journal Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.