You Want Connection—But Dating Feels Like Emotional Whiplash.
Welcome to
First Date, Fifth Breakdown
Online group therapy for rejection sensitivity, overthinking, and dating anxiety.
A delayed text. A shift in tone. An awkward silence.
And suddenly, your heart races, your thoughts spiral, and the story in your head gets louder than the person across the table.
You want to feel excited about dating. But instead, your nervous system is bracing for impact. You’re constantly managing a loop of:
Overthinking every word
Searching for signs of rejection
Masking your true self to earn approval
Whether it's the build-up, the awkwardness of small talk, or the post-date shame spiral, dating doesn’t feel fun. It feels like emotional survival.
And that’s not your fault. It’s your brain doing its best to protect you.
Online Group Therapy for Rejection Sensitivity, Overthinking, and Dating Anxiety
First Date, Fifth Breakdown
You want connection, but dating feels like emotional whiplash. A delayed text, a shift in tone, or an awkward silence can send your brain into overdrive. Instead of feeling excited, you’re bracing for the moment it all falls apart.
Whether it’s the build-up to a date, the awkwardness of small talk, or the post-date spiral of overanalyzing everything you said, dating with social anxiety and rejection sensitivity is a lot. Your nervous system is doing its best to survive what’s supposed to be fun. And that’s not your fault; it’s how your brain is wired to protect you.
This group is for people trying to date with tender hearts and noisy minds. Grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), we’ll explore how to unhook from the mental loops, soothe the need for approval, and shift from self-abandonment to self-trust. You’ll practice staying connected to your values, even when vulnerability feels risky or awkward.
Creative expression is woven into our process, not to distract from discomfort, but to honor the intuitive, playful parts of you that long for love, belonging, and safety.
Led by Emily MacNiven, LPC
Want to Learn More About How Group Therapy Works?
Explore this blog post from Emily:
Am I Too Much or Not Enough? How Group Therapy Helps You Date Without Losing Yourself
You don’t have to shrink to be loved. You don’t have to earn your worth.
This group has flexible, ongoing enrollment and welcomes new members at any point. Covered by most insurance plans.
Day & Time
Wednesdays:
1:00-2:30pm MST
2:00-3:30pm CDT
3:00-4:30pm EST
This Group Is for You If…
✔️You’re tired of trying to earn love by shrinking yourself
✔️You feel both desperate for connection and terrified of rejection
✔️You feel emotionally raw in dating spaces and wish you had a place to process the intensity with people who get it.
✔️You reread your texts 10 times before hitting send
✔️You second-guess yourself after every date
You don’t need to be perfect to be loved. You need a space where you can stop holding it all in.
This isn’t about fixing you. It’s about making space for the parts of you that long for love without losing yourself.
This group is grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and designed for people who are:
Tired of self-abandoning to keep the peace
Craving real connection but afraid of being too much
Caught in anxious loops and approval-seeking patterns
You’ll learn how to:
Unhook from mental spirals that hijack your dating experience
Soothe your nervous system without shutting down
Move from proving your worth to knowing your value
This group helps you build real connection—starting with yourself.
*Participant
“For the first time, I feel like someone really gets how my brain works. I can talk about things I used to shut down around, and that’s a huge shift for me.”
*Participant
“You make space for me to show up as a full person, not just a mess to fix. That means more than I can say.”
*Participant
“I’m grateful for how you balance softness with honesty. You don’t sugarcoat, but you don’t shame, and that helps me stay with the hard stuff.”
How This Group Supports the Things You Don’t Say Out Loud
This group is built for the parts of you you’ve kept quiet:
The fear that you’re always “too much” or “not enough”
The spiral that happens when you don’t get a reply and assume it’s your fault
The guilt you feel for caring so deeply, so fast
The shame that shows up after a vulnerable moment, especially if you think you said the “wrong” thing
You might find yourself saying:
"I don’t know why I care so much—it was just one date."
"I hate how easily I spiral when someone pulls away."
"I feel embarrassed that I got my hopes up again."
"I wish I knew how to stop overthinking every interaction."
Here, those feelings aren’t treated like problems to fix. They’re signals we’ll learn to understand with kindness.
We’ll hold space for what’s unspoken but deeply felt. And we’ll practice turning toward those parts with curiosity, not criticism.
*Participant
“Our sessions help me name what I’ve been carrying underneath the surface. I didn’t realize how much was there until I felt safe enough to explore it.”
*Participant
“This is the first time I’ve had a therapist help me recognize my patterns and believe I can choose something different. It’s empowering.”
*Participant
“I’m learning how to have my own back instead of just pushing through all the time. That’s new for me.”
When you give yourself the chance to be seen, really seen, without judgment or fixing, something shifts.
What's Possible Through Group Therapy
This group helps create space for:
✔️Trusting your intuition without second-guessing every signal
✔️Holding your worth steady—even when the outcome is unknown
✔️Building relationships rooted in mutual care, not people-pleasing
✔️Less alone in your struggles, because you realize, "Oh. It's not just me."
✔️Experiencing emotional regulation in real-time social settings.
Dating can feel different when your nervous system feels safer.
With the support of this group, you’ll begin to notice flickers of ease where there used to be tension. Conversations that used to send you spiraling might feel softer. Moments of uncertainty might feel a little more manageable.
You’ll begin to navigate dating with a steadier sense of self, not because you’ve become less sensitive, but because your sensitivity now has a safe place to land.
You might still feel anxious, but you’ll have tools to ground yourself. You might still fear rejection, but it won’t erase your sense of worth. You’ll move forward with more steadiness, softness, and self-trust.
*Participant
“The metaphors you use stay with me. I caught myself reacting differently this week, and it felt like real progress.”
*Participant
“I actually used what we talked about in real life, and I didn’t spiral. I didn’t think that was possible for me before.”
*Participant
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to slow down my thoughts, but the grounding exercise made it feel possible.”
“You reflect things back in a way that helps me see through the chaos. I leave feeling capable, not broken.”
*Participant
What You’ll Walk Away With by the end of this group, you’ll have:
✨ Skills to unhook from anxious thoughts and emotional spirals
✨ Practice staying grounded in your values, even when it feels awkward
✨ More self-trust and less self-editing
✨ Insight into your relational patterns and nervous system responses
✨ Connection with others navigating the same tender terrain
You’ll begin to notice when you’re performing instead of connecting, and choose differently. You’ll honor your needs without apologizing. And you’ll get to be fully seen, not just picked.
📅 Weekly Support, Your Way
75-minute telehealth sessions via Simple Practice with rolling enrollment.
📓 Optional Between-Session Support
Use of The Red Door ACT Toolbox + Therapy Companion Journal.
🧠 Real Tools, Real Growth
ACT-based tools and practical exercises to support change between sessions
🧾 Insurance-Friendly
Most plans cover the group. We’ll help verify during your consult.
👥 Intimate, Safe Community
7 people max—so you feel known, not lost in the crowd.
🔒 Private & Secure
Sessions are hosted on HIPAA-compliant Simple Practice with a private link each week
Group therapy and individual therapy serve different but equally important purposes. One is not better than the other, they simply meet different needs.
➕ Individual therapy offers space to focus deeply on your story, your past, and your inner world. You get undivided attention, personalized support, and the freedom to process at your own pace.
➕ Group therapy, on the other hand, brings healing through connection. It gives you a front-row seat to the experience of others—and that can shift something inside. You realize you’re not the only one thinking the way you do. You practice sharing vulnerably and receiving support in real time. You witness what courage looks like in someone else, and begin to embody it yourself.
Many people find that group therapy enriches the work they’re doing individually, giving them more real-life moments to apply their insights, tools, and awareness. You get to move from learning to living.
If you already have a therapist, a group can be a powerful complement. If you’re not in individual therapy, that’s okay too. This space can still be deeply transformative on its own.
Want to Learn More About How Group Therapy Works?
Explore this blog post from Emily: You Don’t Have to Hold It All Alone: Why Group Support Might Be Exactly What You Need
Want to explore the emotional experience behind it all?
Read this blog post from Emily: RSD vs. Social Anxiety: How They Manifest and Challenge Your Life Differently
Why Group Therapy?
What to Expect in Group
Every group session lasts 75 minutes and is intentionally structured to offer both safety and flexibility. Here’s a general flow so you know what to expect:
🔹 1. Settling In
⏱️ 5–10 min
Gentle check-in or grounding practice
→ No pressure to share
→ Just arrive as you are
🔹 2. Topic Exploration
⏱️ 20–25 min
Guided skill-building or themed discussion
→ ACT, ERP, mindfulness, or self-compassion
→ May include metaphors, reflections, or brief teachings
🔹 3. Group Discussion & Support
⏱️ 30–35 min
Open space to share or listen
→ Explore emotions, thoughts, relationships
→ Where insight and connection deepen
🔹 4. Closing & Integration
⏱️ 5–10 min
Wrap-up with reflection or grounding
→ Gently transition back into daily life
→ Takeaways or intentions to carry forward
💬 Always Your Choice
Speak up. Sit back. Take space. Just be.
Group is capped at 7 people to keep it safe and intimate.
Meet Your Guide
This isn’t just a group, it’s a space to exhale, connect, and grow at your own pace, with guidance that meets you where you are.
Emily MacNiven, LPC, is a therapist, educator, and founder of The Red Door. She brings warmth, wisdom, and realness to every group—not to fix you, but to walk with you. Emily believes that something powerful happens when people come together with honesty and care—group work can soften isolation, spark insight, and remind us we’re not alone in what we carry. Healing doesn’t happen under pressure. It happens in the presence of safety, clarity, compassion, and connection.
With deep experience supporting folks tangled in mental noise, relationship uncertainty, people-pleasing, and identity-level self-doubt, Emily leads with grounded skill and steady gentleness. Her approach blends structure with softness, offering clear tools, meaningful reflection, and space to show up exactly as you are. In her groups, you don’t just learn to manage life. You learn to reclaim it.
Questions?
Safety + FAQs
-
Many people come into this with past experiences that made them feel ignored, judged, or like they had to perform to belong.
This group is different.
We take time to build trust, not rush it. You’ll never be forced to share more than you want to. You’ll never be “called out” or put on the spot. Everything we do is rooted in consent, gentleness, and honoring your pace.
The group is intentionally small—just seven people max—and everyone is carefully vetted through a 1:1 intake process to ensure the space stays emotionally safe and affirming. If something doesn’t feel right, we talk about it. If you need to pause or regroup, that’s welcome too.
You’re not entering a room full of strangers. You’re stepping into a space where real humans show up with softness, courage, and care.
-
Yes. Most people haven’t. We ease in gently. No pressure, and no need to share until it feels right for you.
Many people find that even just listening, hearing others name what you’ve been feeling, can be powerful and healing. -
You don’t need a formal label. If you find yourself stuck in spirals of overthinking, reassurance-seeking, or relationship doubt—this is a space that understands.
-
This group offers rolling enrollment, so you can start whenever you're ready. There’s no fixed end date, and you're welcome to attend as many sessions as feel helpful. Most folks attend weekly 75-minute sessions to build momentum, but we’ll work together to find a rhythm that honors your energy, schedule, and capacity. You can also schedule a free 20-minute consult to see if it’s a fit.
-
We start with a free consultation and a one-on-one intake session to get to know you and your goals. If this group isn’t the best match, we’ll connect you with another offering that better meets your needs.
Getting Started Is Simple
✅ Step 1: Schedule Your Free Consult
Book a no-pressure, 20-minute video call to see if this group is the right fit for you.
🎧 Step 2: Join a Private Intake Session
Meet one-on-one for a 60-minute intake to talk through your goals, needs, and how group support can help.
💬 Step 3: Begin Group When You’re Ready
If it’s a good fit, you’ll join the group and start your journey. If not, we’ll help you connect with one of our other supportive offerings.
Everything’s online. All you need is a quiet-ish space and a willingness to show up. Pajamas welcome. 🧦💻
💸 Payment Details
Most insurance plans cover group therapy.
We’ll help verify your benefits during your consult and let you know your weekly co-pay.
*These reflections are representative of common themes shared in individual and group sessions and are not direct client testimonials.
Take the next step
Ready to Join—or Just Exploring?
Whether you’re all in or still figuring things out, the next step is the same: fill out the form below. I’ll reach out personally to answer your questions, help verify your insurance if needed, and guide you through what comes next, whether that’s scheduling your intake session or simply starting a conversation.
No pressure, no rush, just real support, at the pace that works best for you.