Codependency Therapist in New York & California

Codependency often develops quietly, shaping how you relate to others and to yourself over time. It can look like prioritizing others’ needs at the expense of your own, feeling responsible for others’ emotions, or struggling to feel secure without reassurance or approval. While these patterns are often rooted in care and connection, they can become exhausting and leave you feeling depleted, unseen, or disconnected from yourself.

If you are exploring this page, you may be noticing relational patterns that no longer feel sustainable. Codependency therapy offers a space to understand these dynamics with depth and compassion, and to work toward relationships that feel more balanced, reciprocal, and grounded. If you’re seeking codependency therapy in New York or California, the information below can help you determine whether this support feels like the right next step.

What Is Codependency?

Codependency is not a diagnosis or a flaw—it is a relational pattern that develops in response to emotional environments where connection, safety, or stability felt conditional. These patterns often form early in life, particularly in relationships where caretaking, emotional attunement, or self-sacrifice became necessary to maintain closeness or avoid conflict.

People experiencing codependency may struggle with boundaries, have difficulty identifying or expressing their own needs, or feel a strong pull to manage, fix, or emotionally regulate others. Self-worth can become closely tied to being needed, helpful, or approved of, making it difficult to rest, receive care, or prioritize oneself without guilt or anxiety.

Codependency frequently overlaps with anxious attachment, trauma, anxiety, or depression. While these patterns were often adaptive at one time, they can later limit emotional freedom and reciprocity—leading to burnout, resentment, loss of identity, or repeated relational distress.

Codependency Therapy Support

Support for relational patterns rooted in anxious attachment, fear of abandonment, emotional caretaking, overfunctioning, and difficulty setting boundaries. Codependency therapy helps explore the emotional, relational, and nervous system dynamics that sustain these patterns—while supporting self-trust, differentiation, and more balanced connection.

Special Focus Areas

Codependency shows up differently for each person, but certain relational themes commonly emerge. Therapy may be helpful if you are experiencing:

Heightened sensitivity to closeness and distance in relationships, often accompanied by worry about being left, replaced, or emotionally disconnected.

Persistent anxiety about loss or rejection that shapes how you relate, compromise, or remain in relationships.

Feeling responsible for others’ emotions, stability, or well-being, often prioritizing their needs over your own.

Taking on disproportionate emotional, practical, or relational responsibility to maintain connection or prevent conflict.

Struggling to assert limits or express needs due to fear of disappointing others or causing relational tension.

Emotional discomfort that arises when attempting to protect your time, energy, or emotional capacity.

Remaining in imbalanced or harmful relationships due to fear of loss, obligation, hope for change, or internalized responsibility.

Suppressing feelings, needs, or disagreements to preserve harmony or avoid emotional rupture.

Relying on reassurance, validation, or external affirmation to maintain a sense of worth or relational safety.

Feeling disconnected from your own preferences, values, or sense of self outside of relational roles.

Giving beyond your capacity or tolerating harmful behavior in the name of loyalty, love, or responsibility.
Graphic of green leaves against a bright, solid yellow background

A Holistic, Somatic, and Psychodynamic Approach

Codependency does not exist only in behaviors—it lives in the body, nervous system, and emotional history. My approach to codependency therapy is holistic, somatic, and psychodynamic, meaning we explore how early attachment experiences, emotional learning, and physiological responses shape present-day relational patterns.

Rather than focusing on behavior change alone, therapy works to understand the emotional needs and protective strategies beneath codependency. This may include supporting nervous system regulation, increasing emotional awareness, working with unconscious relational dynamics, and strengthening a sense of internal safety and self-definition.

Therapy is collaborative and paced with care. Your experience guides the process, and together we work toward helping relationships feel less consuming and more mutual—so you can connect with others without losing yourself.

Codependency Therapy in New York & California

I offer codependency therapy for adults in New York and California. Whether these patterns show up in romantic relationships, family dynamics, friendships, or caregiving roles, therapy can provide support tailored to your relational experience.

Begin Codependency Therapy

If relational patterns are impacting your sense of self or emotional well-being, you don’t have to navigate them alone. Therapy offers a space to explore these dynamics with curiosity, compassion, and clarity. To get started, schedule a consultation or reach out to learn more about codependency therapy in New York or California.

Your Codependency Therapy Experience

Codependency therapy is a focused, collaborative process shaped around your relational experience. Sessions are guided by how codependent patterns show up emotionally, somatically, and in relationships, and by what feels most supportive at each stage of the work. Our work often explores attachment dynamics, emotional history, and nervous system responses—helping patterns feel less automatic and more flexible over time. The aim is not to eliminate care or closeness, but to support relationships that feel reciprocal, grounded, and sustaining.

  • Sessions are 45 minutes, typically held once weekly.
  • Some individuals engage in shorter-term work, often three to six months, when focusing on a specific relational concern.
  • Others choose longer-term therapy to explore deeper attachment patterns and relational wounds, continuing for as long as the work remains meaningful.
  • The pace and duration of therapy are always guided by your needs.

How Care Is Shaped

Effective codependency therapy depends on emotional safety, attunement, and trust. In my private practice, care is individualized rather than protocol-driven, with attention given to both relational patterns and the emotional contexts in which they developed. Our work together is shaped by:

  • Your relational patterns and attachment style
  • How emotional over-responsibility is held in the body and nervous system
  • Emotional history and early relational experiences
  • Your temperament, communication style, and pacing needs
  • A thoughtful integration of somatic awareness and psychodynamic exploration

The therapeutic relationship itself is central. Creating a space where you feel supported enough to explore relational patterns honestly is an essential part of the process.

Support Between Sessions

Therapy is the primary space for working with codependency, though some people benefit from gentle, supportive practices between sessions. These are not intended to override relational patterns, but to support regulation and self-connection. Supportive practices may include:

  • Body-based or mindfulness practices focused on present-moment awareness
  • Gentle movement, such as yoga
  • Time in nature to support nervous system settling
  • Slow, conscious breathing with extended exhalation
  • Nourishing rest, movement, and nutrition approached with consistency rather than rigidity

These practices are optional and explored with care. The intention is not to add more to your plate, but to support steadiness, self-awareness, and emotional balance.