Marriage and Family Therapist, Marriage and Family Therapist MFT
You might call Codependency an addiction to "taking care of others at my own expense," or "an addiction to being in relationship with an abuser." A definite Behavioral addiction! My modality of choice is Image Transformation Therapy and the Feeling State model. I find this model creates actual behavioral and motivational change, not just curbing my "take care of" behavior and gutting it out. I back this up with EMDR and the Feeling State Addiction Protocol.
Resolving childhood trauma and stress will eliminate the need for codependent behavior, which stems from childhood distorted messages. Set boundaries effectively, develop self-worth, and an inner sense of safety that is not dependent on external variables.
Codependency can mean enabling behaviors in such a way that one loses themselves and their identity. Our focus here would be to finding the origin of these behaviors and working on bringing the client back to having their own individual identity with appropriate boundaries and healthy self-image.
I often work with clients who have, or have had, challenges with co-dependency with both substances and relationships with others. Together, we will explore the roots of co-dependency challenges and engage in EMDR and/or IFS as indicated to best support these issues.