Photo of Areeza Ali, Clinical Social Work/Therapist in 94609, CA
Areeza Ali
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW
Verified Verified
Oakland, CA 94609  (Online Only)
Not accepting new clients
Despite your successes, you feel unhappy, worried, overwhelmed, lonely and unfulfilled in your life. You may be seeking more satisfying relationships with family, friends and intimate partners. Perhaps your life is being touched by major changes and this time, you aren’t able to hold all the pieces by yourself. Or perhaps you need support with addressing the complexities and emotional strain associated with being a child of immigrant parents or navigating the world as a person of color. You may have found short-term strategies helpful in the past but are looking for more long term change and satisfaction.
Despite your successes, you feel unhappy, worried, overwhelmed, lonely and unfulfilled in your life. You may be seeking more satisfying relationships with family, friends and intimate partners. Perhaps your life is being touched by major changes and this time, you aren’t able to hold all the pieces by yourself. Or perhaps you need support with addressing the complexities and emotional strain associated with being a child of immigrant parents or navigating the world as a person of color. You may have found short-term strategies helpful in the past but are looking for more long term change and satisfaction.
(510) 662-0908 View (510) 662-0908
Codependency Therapists

What therapy types help with codependency problems?

Both couples and family therapy and cognitive and behavioral therapy (CBT) can help with the relationship difficulties referred to as codependency. Such problems typically include inappropriate feelings of responsibility for a loved one’s destructive behavior, irrational patterns of thinking about such behavior, and family interaction patterns in which the needs of one troubled member override the needs of others in a household.

What happens in therapy for codependency?

Spouses and family members learn and practice how to interact and support each other in a healthy way without sacrificing their own needs or well-being. They learn the limits of their responsibility for their loved ones and correct faulty patterns of thinking and feeling that underlie codependent behavior. Individuals may be encouraged to nurture an array of social relationships and to cultivate their own talents and interests so that they develop a healthy sense of self outside the family.

How does therapy help a person or couple overcome codependency?

Therapy helps people establish healthy ways of being in a relationship. Spouses and family members learn how to nurture and support one another without sacrificing their own needs or allowing the needs of one person to dominate the dynamic. Individuals learn how to say no and set boundaries, and how to maintain their own identity and self-esteem. Therapy helps people understand that they are not responsible for the feelings and actions of others. It also helps individuals deal with the turbulence that can come from living with a person suffering from such conditions as substance abuse and mental illness.

What is the goal of therapy for codependency?

One goal of therapy for codependency is to alleviate feelings of responsibility for and correct irrational patterns of thinking about loved ones whose behavioral problems override the needs of others in a household. Therapy helps people establish healthy boundaries of behavior and speak up for their own needs in a relationship. In addition, people learn how to maintain a healthy relationship, one in which both parties give and receive equally and are able to retain their own identity.