Episode 49 | High-Functioning Codependency with Alyssa Kushner, LCSW

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  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.