Appointment Hours :
- Monday - Friday : 9am-4pm
- Saturday/Sunday: Closed
Your Past Doesn’t Define You
My name is Micah Fleitman, LPC. I am an EMDR trauma therapist in Virginia. I can help you heal overwhelming emotions, poor self-esteem, and painful relationships by fusing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with other trauma therapies.
Some days, it feels like your emotions have a mind of their own.
One moment, you’re fine; the next, you’re drowning in sadness, anger, or shame, with no clear reason why. Though a part of you knows you are doing your best, you second guess yourself and beat yourself up.
You try to keep it together, but the smallest thing—a misunderstood text, a shift in someone’s tone, feeling ignored—can send you spiraling.
When that happens, it’s like a switch flips inside you. Maybe you lash out. Maybe you shut down. Maybe you retreat into yourself so no one sees how messy it feels inside. It’s hard to believe that anyone could truly care about you if they really knew you.
If this sounds familiar, know this: You are not broken. You are not too much. You are carrying the weight of experiences that taught you to survive this way. But survival is not the same as living—and healing is possible.
Imagine waking up and feeling at ease in your own skin—not bracing for the next emotional storm, not questioning your worth with every decision. Instead of drowning in shame or anger, you feel in control of your emotions, able to pause, breathe, and respond with clarity.
You no longer have to choose between protecting yourself and letting people in—you can do both.
Relationships feel lighter, safer, real. You trust yourself enough to set boundaries without guilt, to say what you need without fear, to let love in without constantly waiting for it to disappear.
This is what healing looks like. And with EMDR, it’s possible.
How Can EMDR Help?
The wounds of the past show up in the present as painful cycles that make relationships overwhelming, emotions unmanageable, and self-doubt impossible to escape.
EMDR helps break these cycles by allowing you to release the past and step into a future where you feel emotionally secure, confident, and capable of meaningful connection.
Shame and fear were a prison.
I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. My emotions felt overwhelming, and I didn’t know how to let people care for me. I questioned my worth and tried to hold it all together, but I never felt good enough.
Healing began when I stopped fighting my feelings and started listening to them.
I learned that even the parts of me I wanted to ignore were trying to help me. And they needed my help too. As I began to trust myself, I was able to let others in—fully, safely, and without shame.
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.
Hello. I’m Micah Fleitman, LPC.
IFS helps you connect with the parts of you that carry pain, while EMDR helps release the memories they hold—so you feel more whole and less stuck inside.
Somatic Therapy helps you listen to your body’s signals, and EMDR clears the memories that keep you feeling frozen or on edge—so you can finally relax.
TF-CBT shifts painful beliefs like “I’m not good enough,” while EMDR heals the wounds underneath—rebuilding self-trust from the inside out.
Psychodynamic Therapy helps you understand old relationship patterns, while EMDR helps heal the memories driving them—freeing you to connect more safely.
Hypnosis gently reaches buried trauma, and EMDR processes it safely—helping you calm the fear and pain held deep inside.
It becomes coming home to yourself—with calm, confidence, and the ability to trust yourself and others again.
We’ll build inner resources that help you move forward in a way that feels right for you.You’ll learn how to:
EMDR isn’t about pushing too hard or too fast. It’s about helping you move forward in a way that feels right for you.
I’ll help you gently process the past through bilateral stimulation—a technique that involves rhythmic eye movements, tapping, or sounds that help your brain process old wounds in a new way.
Here’s what happens:
You don’t have to relive every detail to heal. EMDR helps your brain process trauma in a way that naturally reduces its emotional charge, so it no longer controls you.
After processing distressing experiences, EMDR helps replace old, painful self-beliefs with new, healthier ones.
For example:
🚫 “I am not enough.” →
✅ “I am worthy of love and respect.”
🚫 “I can’t trust anyone.” →
✅ “I can choose safe, supportive relationships.”
🚫 “I will always be stuck in this pain.” →
✅ “I have the strength to heal.”
These new beliefs become stronger each session, making it easier to live with confidence, trust yourself, and form relationships without fear.
EMDR can help you step out of survival mode and into a life where you feel emotionally steady, confident, and free from the weight of the past
A deeper look at how EMDR can help you:
When the past no longer controls you, emotions stop feeling like a battlefield, self doubt fades and self trust grows, and relationships feel secure and open. Here’s how EMDR can help:
Regain Control: Feel Comfortable With Your Emotions
Sometimes, emotions hit so hard it’s like they are the crisis, making it impossible to think clearly or respond calmly.
How EMDR Helps
Rebuild Self-Esteem: Learn to Trust Yourself Again
Trauma teaches us that we’re not enough, not lovable, or not worthy of good things.
How EMDR Helps
Heal Relationships: Experience Closeness Without Fear
If you’ve been hurt in the past it can be hard to feel safe in relationships. Maybe you crave closeness but also fear it. Maybe you trust too easily and get hurt, or hold people at arm’s length even when you don’t want to.
How EMDR Helps
Book a free 30-minute consultation
Begin therapy
Understand you as a whole person and tailor treatment to your needs.
Ongoing support
Work together to build safety and trust as you heal and grow.
Safety
Build a meaningful connection with your therapist. Feeling validated, heard, and respected will improve the therapeutic relationship.
Honesty
Being honest with yourself is not always easy, so it can be hard to share with your therapist too. When trust and comfort exist, honesty can surface.
Connection
Once we are honest with ourselves,
we make room for learning and growth. Growth may look like breaking old patterns, creating new habits, and establishing a plan to meet goals.
Appointment Hours :
Online Therapy in Virginia
For your convenience, my teletherapy services are available across the state of Virginia, including Alexandria, Arlington, Chesapeake, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Leesburg, Lynchburg, Manassas, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Reston, Richmond, Roanoke, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.
If you need to send me mail, you can do so at this address:
1550 Wilson Blvd Ste. 700 #226, Arlington, VA 22209
Book a complimentary 30-Minute Consult