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High-Functioning Codependency Explained: Signs, Patterns, and Recovery with Alyssa Kushner, LCSW

Earn Continuing Education Credits (CEs): By listening to this episode, you can earn CEs if you join the Affirm Academy! To learn more and register, visit affirmmentalhealth.com, and click on the "Join the Affirm Academy" button.

SIGN IN: Affirm Academy Members: Log in to get your CEs! If you're already a member, you can log in to your account https://shaina-siber-sanderowitz.mykajabi.com/login to take your post-test/evaluation and get your certificate within minutes.

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Course Information: https://www.canva.com/design/DAG0ZDQh5zI/Ri-sVLz-V9-USJN4HxEa1g/view?utm_content=DAG0ZDQh5zI&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hcc4e682b1b

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Episode Summary: In this episode of The Affirming Minds Podcast, host Shaina Siber-Sanderowitz, LCSW, sits down with trauma therapist Alyssa Kushner, LCSW, to unpack the complexities of codependency, enmeshment, and parentification—especially as they show up in high-functioning clients.

Alyssa shares her expertise in helping over-functioners, anxious perfectionists, and people-pleasers recognize the subtle ways self-abandonment, hypervigilance, and external validation shape their identities. She explores how cultural and systemic messages reinforce patterns of self-sacrifice and people-pleasing, and offers evidence-informed strategies to help clients build boundaries, self-compassion, and autonomy.

Listeners will gain insight into how nervous system healing, EMDR, somatic approaches, mindfulness, and attachment theory can support recovery from codependency and create more secure, balanced, and fulfilling relationships.

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Learning Objectives (CE Eligible):

  • Define and differentiate codependency, enmeshment, and parentification, and describe how these dynamics intersect in high-functioning clients
  • Identify common clinical presentations of codependent patterns (e.g., over-extending, self-abandonment, hypervigilance) and analyze how external validation and worth-based identity reinforce them
  • Apply evidence-informed strategies to help clients develop boundaries, self-compassion, and autonomy, while considering the influence of cultural and systemic factors

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About Our Guest: Alyssa Kushner, LCSW, is a trauma therapist and the owner of AK Psychotherapy, serving clients in NYC, DC, NJ, and MD. She works primarily with adults navigating the impact of relational and complex trauma, facilitates women’s support groups, and offers EMDR intensives for clients who feel “stuck” despite having insight.

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Resources: 

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Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The host, Shaina Siber-Sanderowitz, LCSW, is the Founder of Affirm Mental Health, an accredited CE provider. She receives financial compensation from Affirm Mental Health for the development and delivery of continuing education content. There are no other conflicts of interest to disclose.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for clinical training or treatment. If you or someone you know needs mental health support, please reach out to a licensed professional.

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