Healing Anxiety And Self-Doubt With EMDR

Ever felt the split between what you want and what your culture expects? We sit down with therapist Cristina Deneve of Empower U Bilingual EMDR Therapy to unpack how that inner tug-of-war can fuel anxiety, guilt, and relentless self-doubt—and how EMDR can help you finally feel the truth your mind already knows.

Cristina explains that EMDR therapy is not only an approach for treating trauma and complex trauma - it’s also effective for anxiety and depression. EMDR helps the brain reprocess difficult memories so they lose their emotional intensity, allowing you to develop more accurate and empowering beliefs about yourself. She shares her unexpected journey from engineering to psychotherapy, revealing what happens when a life that looks perfect on paper stops fitting. Together, we explore common myths about therapy, why seeking help isn’t a sign of being “broken,” and how a compassionate, nonjudgmental space makes it possible to rewrite stories shaped by transgenerational trauma and inherited expectations.

If you’re an adult child of immigrants navigating pressure to excel, fear of disappointing loved ones, or the weight of always being “the strong one,” this conversation offers a grounded path forward. We talk through practical ways EMDR helps release old patterns like perfectionism and people‑pleasing, why bilingual access matters for emotional nuance, and how freedom can look like setting boundaries, choosing aligned goals, and feeling at home in your own skin. Cristina also shares how clients find her practice and the simple routines—time outdoors, movement, community—that support a regulated nervous system.

Visit: https://empoweruemdr.com/

Press play to learn how EMDR can turn insight into embodied change and help you live a life that honors your roots without losing yourself. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help more listeners find the show.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Rachel Five.

SPEAKER_01 (00:14):
Well, welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Now, are you torn between whatyou want and what the culture
you come from tells you to do orbe?
Or do you experience anxiety,self-doubt, or guilt and are
looking for a therapist?
Well, this resource is closerthan you think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,

(00:37):
Christina Denise, with EmpowerYou Bilingual EMDR Therapy.
Christina, how is it going?

SPEAKER_00 (00:46):
Hi, Rachel.
Thank you so much for having me.
It's going great, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 (00:50):
Well, wonderful.
Well, we're really excited tolearn about your practice.
So tell us about your therapypractice.

SPEAKER_00 (00:56):
Yes, well, Empower You is an online psychotherapy
practice where I help adultchildren of immigrants who feel
anxiety, self-doubt, and umguilt and shame.
And I use my main approach,which is EMDR, because it's more
effective than talk therapy.

(01:18):
And if you want, I can explain alittle bit more about EMDR.
Would that be okay?
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah, EMDR is very effective.
You know, it helps integratewhat we logically think and what
we experience emotionally.
Like, for example, if you feelif you think about, oh, I know

(01:39):
I'm good enough because I havedone this and I have done that,
I am this person, but sometimesemotionally it's not there, the
feeling, right?
So what in the art it'sintegrates that logical
experience with the emotionalexperience that you not only
know it, but you feel it.

SPEAKER_01 (01:56):
Wonderful.
Well, how did you get into thistype of business?

SPEAKER_00 (02:00):
Yes, um, well, it all started, you know, when I
was an engineer.
I I studied engineers first, andthen everything looked on paper.
I was um I had a good career, Ihad stability, but deep down I
felt miserable.
So for some years it worked anduntil it didn't, because I had

(02:22):
put that part of me away, andall of a sudden, um, you know, I
knew something had to change.
So I switched careers topsychology and I started to do
my own therapy, and you know, Irealized that I wasn't connected
to myself, I wasn't living thelife that I that I wanted to
live because I didn't even knowwhat I wanted.

(02:44):
So this whole self-discoveryprocess started, and that's what
brought me here.

SPEAKER_01 (02:49):
Wonderful.
Well, what do you think aremaybe some myths or
misconceptions in your industry?

SPEAKER_00 (02:56):
Yes, well, you know, sometimes um I hear a lot that
you go to therapy becausethere's something wrong with you
and then you're broken.
And you know, and what I, youknow, what I think is that
therapy it helps you to get toknow yourself at a different
level, to understand whathappened to you and the impact

(03:17):
that that had in your life.
And when you find a notjudgmental place, you can um be
honest with yourself and you canstart making different choices
in your life to live uh a lifethat is more aligned with what
you are and who you are.

SPEAKER_01 (03:34):
Wow, okay.
Yeah, okay, so now um, yeah, weknow you know we know marketing
is really the heart of everybusiness.
So, how are you binding yourpatients to your therapy
practice?

SPEAKER_00 (03:47):
Yeah, well, you know, it's different ways.
I think mostly is uh words ofmouth, right?
When my clients uh recommendother people, and um I do also
uh you know marketing, I have myFacebook account, I have my
Instagram account, I postsometimes, and uh other

(04:09):
therapists refer me.
Uh, and also I'm in somedirectories, so that also, you
know, those are my sourcesmainly.

unknown (04:18):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (04:18):
Have you ever thought about doing your own
podcast by any chance?

SPEAKER_00 (04:22):
Yes, I have thought about it.
Definitely, definitely.
I I think that's something thatI have in mind, and I definitely
it's something I want to work inthe in the near future.

SPEAKER_01 (04:32):
Wonderful.
Now, um, outside of work,Christina, what do you like to
do for fun?

SPEAKER_00 (04:39):
Yes, I you know, I love being outdoors.
I feel like being outdoors doessomething magic for me.
I love hiking, rollerblading,paddleboarding, um, you know,
and I I love connecting withfriends and spending time with
my family.

SPEAKER_01 (04:55):
Wonderful.
Well, Christina, please tell ourlisteners one thing they should
remember about empower you.

SPEAKER_00 (05:02):
Yes, uh definitely like empower you.
Um, you know, it's it's atherapy practice that can help
you to heal, you know, trauma,transgenerational trauma, and
use E in VR.
The goal is to help you feelfree from all patterns, from

(05:23):
self-doubt, and free uh fromexpectations, so you can leave
that the life that you want thatis more aligned with who you
are.

SPEAKER_01 (05:32):
Wonderful.
Well, how can our listenerslearn more about empower you?

SPEAKER_00 (05:37):
Yes, they can visit my my website, which is um
empower and the letter you, andthen embr.com.
And also I have my Instagramaccount, which is empowery.embr,
and my Facebook account, whichis Christina Denise.

SPEAKER_01 (06:00):
Wonderful.
Well, Christina, I reallyappreciate you being on the
show, and we wish you and yourpractice really the best of luck
moving forward and much success.

SPEAKER_00 (06:09):
Thank you, Rachel.
Thank you for having me.
My pleasure.
It was a pleasure.
Thank you.

unknown (06:14):
Bewet.

SPEAKER_02 (06:16):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to gnporgecounty.com.
That's gnpoangecounty.com orcall 714 941 2882.