Dating Therapy
for Women
Specialist Dr. Nicole Baum, PsyD.
New York • Massachusetts
For women burnt out from dating- caught in cycles of chasing, 2nd guessing , bending to be chosen or stuck in a pattern.
If dating leaves you insecure, invisible, or like you’re always “almost enough,” you’re not alone. You may find yourself over-giving, under-asking, or shrinking just to keep the connection.
You might catch yourself wondering: “Am I being too much? Am I not enough? Everything else in my life is on track, so how did I end up here…again?”
They’re stuck in dating cycles
They please, shrink, or over-give to be chosen
Emotional intimacy is overwhelming
Doubt drowns out instincts
They overanalyze texts or “signals” and spin out
They’re drawn to unavailable partners
They want something different
Clients Come To Me When:
Dating Therapy to Help You Choose Yourself First
Dating shouldn’t feel like a test. Together, we’ll shift how you connect with others and how you connect with yourself. We’ll peel back the layers, exploring your early attachment experiences, the relationships that shaped you, and the patterns you’ve carried. When you begin to choose yourself, everything changes: who you’re drawn to, how you show up, and what you’re willing to tolerate.
Techniques We’ll Use in
Dating Therapy
My approach blends insight with action:
we’ll uncover the roots of your patterns while also building tools to shift them in the moment.
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Understand the blueprint behind your relationship patterns.
We’ll look at how early attachment experiences shaped the way you connect, protect, and respond in relationships today. Whether you tend to anxiously chase, avoid closeness, or swing between the two, understanding your attachment style helps create more conscious choices in dating and intimacy.
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Uncover the deeper forces driving your choices.
This approach examines your emotional history including family dynamics, early relationships, and the beliefs you’ve carried into adulthood. In dating work, it helps explain why certain patterns repeat and how identity, worth, and intimacy were shaped. By bringing these patterns into awareness, therapy shines a light on what once felt unconscious, so you can recognize and transform old dynamics into new possibilities.
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Step out of self-criticism and into what matters to you.
ACT helps you notice insecurities or “too much/not enough” spirals without getting pulled in. Instead of trying to fix or hide the self-critical stories your mind tells you, you learn to hold space for them while still choosing actions that align with the kind of relationships you want to build.
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Navigate dating with balance, boundaries, and emotional clarity.
DBT provides tools to manage emotional overwhelm, especially in moments of rejection, ambiguity, or conflict. You’ll learn to set and hold boundaries, respond rather than react, and stay centered even when dating feels uncertain.
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Reframe beliefs that keep you stuck.
CBT helps identify and challenge dating-related thought distortions like “I always scare people off,” or “If they ghost, I must have done something wrong.” Together, we’ll shift these beliefs into more balanced, grounded perspectives that support self-worth.
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Connect to your emotional truth then express it clearly.
EFT helps you move beyond defensiveness or people-pleasing so that you can connect with the feelings underneath. When you can name and share what you feel, you’re able to show up authentically and create deeper connections.
Therapy for Dating
With Results
After therapy, my clients report:
No longer pulled into the same dynamics
Pause instead of spiraling
Feel grounded even when things aren’t
Speaking up rather than shrink
Spot red flags early + walking away
Trust their own intuition
Relationships that are mutual, grounded, and healthy
Dating becomes less like a puzzle to solve and more like a process of discovery with them in the lead.
Hi, I’m Dr. Nicole Baum
I’m a Clinical Psychologist with over a decade of experience, integrating psychodynamic insight with practical, concrete strategies.
I specialize in supporting women who identify as overachievers or people-pleasers, especially those navigating self-worth struggles in romantic relationships.
Many of my clients are dating in high-pressure cities like NYC or Boston, where ghosting, dating app fatigue, and emotional ambiguity are all too common. In therapy, we focus on strengthening communication skills, setting boundaries that hold, and untangling the deeper patterns that keep you stuck. This work creates space to step out of old roles and build something new.
If you’re ready to stop repeating old dynamics and start building the kind of relationships you deserve, let’s work together.
Education, Credentials,
& Trainings
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (PsyD), William James College (formerly the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology)
Master’s in Psychology, William James College
Bachelor’s in Psychology, Clark University, magna cum laude
Post-doctoral Fellowship at the Cambridge Eating Disorder Center, specializing in body image and disordered eating
Clinical experience in inpatient, college counseling, community mental health, and outpatient psychotherapy settings (including UMass, Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, and others)
Licensed in New York and Massachusetts
Get Started
in 3 Steps
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Fill out the contact form. You’ll always hear back from me. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll provide a thoughtful referral to someone who might be.
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We’ll schedule a brief phone consultation to see if it feels like a good match. If it does, we’ll move forward with booking your first session.
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In our first few sessions, we’ll get to know each other and begin building safety and trust. I’ll learn more about you and your world: your history, your nervous system, and how I can best support you. This is our time to discover how therapy can help you move forward.