Relational Psychodynamic Therapy in Virginia

Feel connected, worthy, and safe—both with yourself and with others

My name is Micah Fleitman, LPC. I am a Psychodynamic trauma therapist in Virginia. I can help you heal overwhelming emotions, poor self-esteem, and painful relationships by fusing Psychodynamic Therapy with EMDR and other trauma therapies.

You Long to Feel Close—but Fear Gets in the Way

You want connection. You want to feel loved without constantly second-guessing yourself. You want to be able to trust that you’re enough without having to work so hard for it.

But instead, you feel trapped in a painful cycle. One moment you’re craving closeness. The next, you’re shutting down, pushing people away, or bracing for disappointment.

Small things—a missed call, a cold look, a minor conflict—can spiral into shame, anger, or numbness.

It’s not because you’re broken. It’s because your relationships taught you that you weren’t safe.

Relational Psychodynamic Therapy helps you gently heal those old wounds, so you can feel safe and build relationships that feel nourishing, not frightening.

You Can Feel Safe, Loved, and Fully Yourself

Imagine trusting yourself to speak up, set boundaries, and believe in your own worth.

In relationships, you take up space without apology. You ask for your needs without fear of being too much. You trust that love doesn’t have to be earned by being perfect—it can exist simply because you are you.

Healing doesn’t erase the past. But it changes how you carry it. Relational Psychodynamic Therapy can help you stop surviving relationships—and start living them with trust, confidence, and self-respect.

How Can Relational Psychodynamic Therapy Help?

Relational Psychodynamic Therapy is about healing the parts of you that learned not to trust yourself, your emotions, or your worth.

These patterns helped you survive. But now, they’re holding you back from the love, belonging, and freedom you deserve.

We’ll gently notice how these old patterns show up in your present, including in your relationship with me as your therapist. This gives us a living, breathing chance to create a new, healing experience together—one based on trust, respect, and care.

It’s not about analyzing you. It’s about being with you. Seeing you. Helping you reconnect with your inner worthiness—the part of you that has always deserved love, exactly as you are.

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I know what it’s like to live with a critical voice inside

Always questioning your worth, your needs, and your right to be loved. For a long time, I tried to “fix” myself by being better, working harder, achieving more.

Healing began when I stopped fighting myself—and started listening with compassion.

I learned that the parts of me I once judged were trying to protect me in the best ways they knew how. They didn’t need to be erased. They needed to be understood, cared for, and welcomed home.

Now I help others do the same. You’re not broken. You’re carrying pain that deserves care. Healing is possible—and you don’t have to do it alone.

Hi, I’m Micah Fleitman, LPC.

I Offer A Holistic Approach to Healing

Trauma touches every part of you—mind, body, emotions, and relationships. That’s why I integrate relational psychodynamic work with other powerful trauma therapies:

EMDR: Release What Still Feels Stuck

EMDR helps your brain process painful memories so they no longer feel like threats. Combined with relational therapy, it helps you let go of the past and respond with more calm and clarity in the present.

Somatic Therapy: Help Your Body Feel Safe

Even if you feel safe logically, your body might still be on high alert. Somatic Therapy helps release tension and fear stored in your nervous system so you can feel more grounded and connected.

Internal Family Systems (IFS): Support Every Part of You

Trauma can leave you feeling divided inside. IFS helps you care for the parts of you that are trying to protect you—so you feel more whole, calm, and in control.

Clinical Hypnosis: Reach the Deeper Layers

Some pain lives beyond words. Clinical Hypnosis helps you access and heal those deeper layers, working with relational therapy to bring calm, clarity, and lasting change.

You Deserve a Healing Process That Cares for All of You.

I blend proven trauma therapies with a warm, relational approach that meets all of you—mind, body, and heart.

What Relational Psychodynamic Therapy Looks Like

Psychodynamic Therapy is about healing through a safe, real relationship. Together, we’ll explore old patterns and create new, more supportive ways of relating—to yourself and others. Here’s what that process looks like.

Building Safety and Connection

Before diving into painful stories or big emotions, we focus on creating a foundation where you feel safe and seen.

You’ll learn to:

Recognize and name emotions without judgment.
Stay connected to yourself during hard conversations.
Build trust—not just with me, but with yourself.

We move at your pace. Safety always comes first.

Exploring Deep Relationship Patterns

As you feel more grounded, we gently start exploring the patterns that shape your life:

How you relate to others.
How you treat yourself.
How you manage vulnerability, conflict, and love.

We don’t just “talk about” these patterns—we notice them as they arise between us, giving you a live, supported way to experience something new.

Creating New, Healing Experiences

The heart of relational healing is not insight alone—it’s lived experience.

In therapy, you’ll have the chance to:

Feel accepted even when you’re struggling.
Express needs and feelings without fear of abandonment.
Practice setting boundaries without guilt.

Each healing experience builds a new pathway inside you—one that says:

“I am safe.”
“I am lovable.”
“I am enough.”

Together, we can untangle old patterns and create new ways of being that feel steady, safe, and true to you.

How Relational Psychodynamic Therapy Heals Emotions, Self-esteem, and Relationships

Relational Psychodynamic Therapy gently untangles the deep roots of self-criticism, emotional overwhelm, and fear of connection. Here’s how:

Calm Overwhelming Emotions

When emotions feel too big or too fast, it’s easy to shut down—or to react in ways that don’t feel like “you.”

These reactions aren’t flaws. They’re survival strategies.

In therapy, we slow things down. Together, we build your capacity to stay with emotions, to notice them without fear, and to trust that you can handle them.

Over time, you’ll feel more in charge of your emotional world—able to move through storms without getting lost in them.

Rebuild Self-Esteem and Self-Trust

If you grew up doubting your worth, it’s hard to believe that you’re enough.

In therapy, we get curious about the roots of these beliefs—not to blame anyone, but to give you the freedom to see yourself differently.

As you experience compassion instead of judgment, inside and out, that inner critic starts to lose its power. You’ll begin to move from “What’s wrong with me?” to “I am worthy exactly as I am.”

Heal Your Relationships from the Inside Out

When you’ve been hurt before, it’s scary to trust.

We’ll help you recognize these protective patterns with compassion. Together, we create new experiences of connection—experiences where it’s safe to be seen, safe to have needs, and safe to trust again.

You don’t have to choose between protecting yourself and connecting with others. You can have both.