You Want Connection—But Friendships & Dating Feel Like Emotional Landmines…
Welcome to
Brave Connections
Online group therapy for Online group therapy for rejection sensitivity, social anxiety, and overthinking in relationships.
A delayed text. A friend not calling back. A date that feels a little “off.”
Suddenly, your chest tightens, your brain spins, and you’re convinced something went wrong—even if no one’s said a word.
You want connection to feel good. You want to believe you’re wanted. But instead, your nervous system is always on high alert, scanning for the moment it will all fall apart.
The loop is exhausting:
Overanalyzing every interaction—replaying what you said, how you looked, what they might have meant
Looking for signs of rejection—even in the smallest pause or tone shift
Holding back your real self—just to keep the peace or earn approval
Carrying the shame spiral after—convinced you messed it up or took up too much space
What’s supposed to be friendship or new love ends up feeling like emotional survival.
And here’s the thing: this doesn’t mean you’re broken or “too much.” It means your brain and body learned to protect you by preparing for rejection. The problem is, it keeps you from the very closeness you’re craving.
Online Group Therapy for Navigating Adult Friendships & Dating with Social Anxiety or Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)
Brave Connections
You want connection, but sometimes it feels like your mind is working against you. A delayed text, a shift in tone, or an awkward silence can send you spiraling into “what did I do wrong?” Instead of feeling excited about friendship or dating, you’re bracing for the moment it all unravels.
Whether it’s:
The build-up before reaching out,
The awkwardness of small talk,
Or the post-conversation replay that leaves you exhausted
Your nervous system is in survival mode while your heart longs for connection. That’s not weakness; it’s the reality of navigating friendships and dating with social anxiety or rejection sensitivity. Here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to stay this way.
This group is for women navigating adult friendships and dating with tender hearts and busy, noisy minds. Together, we’ll explore how to:
Unhook from mental loops that keep you stuck.
Soothe the fear of rejection and the pressure to “get it right.”
Shift from self-abandonment to self-trust in your relationships.
Build resilience to show up authentically, even when vulnerability feels risky.
Grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and supported by creative reflection, this group gives you more than strategies; it gives you a space where you don’t have to perform, prove, or apologize.
Instead, you’ll find women who get it and learn how to move from isolation and self-doubt to connection, confidence, and self-compassion.
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
Because connection shouldn’t mean silencing yourself, overthinking every word, or bracing for rejection
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 know the cycle of self-criticism well, but you want tools that actually help you break it.
✔️You dream of friendships and dating that feel safe, reciprocal, and fun—not like constant tests you might fail.
✔️You’re ready to practice showing up as the real you—with others who understand how hard and how brave that is.
✔️You crave connection but often feel like you’re “too much” or “not enough” in relationships.
✔️You’ve spent years hiding parts of yourself to keep the peace, and it leaves you feeling unseen.
Social anxiety and RSD make connection feel high-stakes—but it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Here, you’ll find a place to practice showing up fully, without the spiral of self-doubt holding you back.
This group isn’t about “fixing” you—it’s about giving you tools to stop abandoning yourself in pursuit of connection.
Instead of working harder to quiet your anxious thoughts or overcompensating to keep someone interested, you’ll practice new ways of relating to yourself and others.
Grounded in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), this group is designed for women who:
Want to show up authentically without second-guessing every move
Long for closeness but feel stuck in cycles of self-doubt and overanalyzing
Carry the weight of rejection so heavily that it overshadows joy in relationships
In this group, you’ll discover how to:
Create distance from the thought spirals that make connection feel unsafe
Find steadiness in your body so your nervous system doesn’t dictate the moment
Build confidence by anchoring to your values rather than chasing approval
The shift isn’t about becoming fearless, it’s about learning to stay grounded and connected, even when fear or self-doubt shows up.
*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.
Connection can feel different when your nervous system feels safer.
With the safety of this group, you’ll begin to notice moments of calm where there used to be panic. Texts that once set off hours of overthinking might feel easier to sit with. Conversations that used to leave you questioning your worth might start to feel less heavy.
Dating and friendship won’t suddenly be effortless—but they can start to feel less like a battlefield.
You’ll still feel the tug of anxiety, but you’ll have grounding tools to steady yourself. You’ll still care deeply about how others respond, but it won’t erase your sense of value. And slowly, you’ll build a way of showing up that feels softer, more confident, and more true to who you are.
This group is about creating space for sensitivity without letting it control the story—so you can move through connection with more steadiness, hope, 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.
📅 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.
Learn more about Emily and The Red Door Therapy & Wellness Solutions!
Questions?
Safety + FAQs
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.