Codependency & Boundaries Therapy in Colorado Springs
For people-pleasers, caretakers, and anyone who has lost themselves in their relationships. Therapy for codependency, enmeshment, people-pleasing, and boundaries, in person in Colorado Springs and online across Colorado.
You know everyone else’s needs by heart.
Somewhere along the way, you lost track of your own. Maybe love has felt like it depends on caretaking. Maybe you’ve stopped trusting your own read on what happened. You help everyone else and often get little in return, while resentment quietly builds and speaking up feels like it will only make things worse.
People struggling with codependency often learned early that to have value, they had to worry about others more than themselves. We describe it as jumping into other people’s pools. You might be more aware of how everyone in the room feels than how you feel about the room. Maintaining relationships at any cost is exhausting, and burned out describes it well.
Or maybe you swung the other way. You handle everything alone, proud of it but exhausted and unseen. Needing anyone feels unsafe, so the walls went up. That kind of hyper-independence is often mistaken for healing, but it is loneliness wearing armor.
The goal is the middle.
Codependency and hyper-independence are two ends of the same pendulum. On one side: I give everything, I abandon myself, I need you to need me. On the other: I need no one, I trust no one, letting anyone in feels dangerous. Both are survival strategies that once kept you safe or connected. Neither is a character flaw, and neither is real connection.
Recovery is learning to hold the middle: a whole self in genuine relationship with others. You can care without caretaking. You can ask for help without losing yourself. You can be close without disappearing.
Along the way, we look honestly at people-pleasing. People sometimes look at us like we’re crazy when we say people-pleasing can be a form of control. But when you show up the way you think someone wants you to so you can feel safe, instead of being authentic when that might mean conflict, you are choosing safety over authenticity without saying so. It worked once. The question is whether it still works now. Recognizing that, with compassion and without shame, is where real freedom begins.
Boundaries are information about you, not a punishment for them.
Of all the work someone can do in therapy, boundary work is often the lowest-hanging fruit. The concept is simple to understand and harder to put into practice. Boundaries come from self-knowledge and self-respect, not fear. They aren’t walls. They define where you end and someone else begins, and that is what makes genuine connection possible. It is something we practice as a team too: we can only show up fully for others when we support ourselves first, and a limit can be an act of care rather than rejection.
We start by rebuilding your self-worth and quieting the inner critic. Using Internal Family Systems (IFS), we get to know the parts of you that rush in to rescue, fix, or please, and what they are protecting you from. With Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), you learn to notice the old story, “I have to keep everyone happy,” without obeying it, and to act from your values instead. Attachment work and somatic practices help you use your body as a guide, so you can feel the difference between caring for someone and abandoning yourself.
You will learn to set limits and keep them, express your wants and needs without fear of conflict, and let go of outcomes that were never yours to control. It is finally time to love yourself the way you have always loved the people around you.
Selfhood Sanctuary: our codependency recovery group
Healing from codependency happens in relationship, and group is one of the most powerful places to practice. Selfhood Sanctuary is a therapist-led codependency recovery group that explores codependency, enmeshment, and the hyper-independence that often follows, grounded in IFS, ACT, attachment theory, and somatic work. It meets in person in Colorado Springs on Saturday mornings and is facilitated by Nicholas Fry, MSW, LCSW.
Learn more about Selfhood Sanctuary →
Want to go deeper? Read Nick’s reflection on how childhood shapes codependency, avoidance, and perfectionism: The Trade We Make to Stay Loved →
Codependency Therapy at a glance
Therapists who help with codependency and boundaries
Nicholas FryMSW, LCSW
Roxanna ThomasMS, LPCC
Graeme McKnightLPCC, ADDC
Mary Beth BergerMSW, SWC
Megan WooldridgeMSW, LSW
Esther AnthonyMSW, SWC
Kari JukkolaMSW, SWC, LSW
Jordan WagmanMSW, LSWGetting started is simple
Insurance we accept
Questions about coverage or cost? Email Sarah or text 719-357-6569.
Codependency Therapy FAQ
What are signs of codependency?
Common signs include people-pleasing, difficulty saying no, feeling responsible for other people’s emotions, losing yourself in relationships, resentment you can’t express, fear of abandonment, and burnout from caretaking.
Is people-pleasing a sign of codependency?
Often, yes. People-pleasing usually means showing up the way you think others want you to so you can feel safe, instead of being authentic when it might cause conflict. Therapy helps you notice the pattern with compassion and practice expressing your real wants and needs.
What is the difference between codependency and enmeshment?
Enmeshment is a specific form of codependency where the boundaries between two people dissolve. Their mood becomes your mood, and their crisis becomes your crisis. It is common in parent and child relationships and in romantic relationships.
Can hyper-independence be a trauma response?
Yes. Hyper-independence is often a pendulum swing away from codependency or a response to being let down by people who should have been safe. It can look like strength, but it often leaves people isolated and exhausted. Therapy helps you find the middle, where you can rely on others without losing yourself.
Do you offer a codependency group?
Yes. Selfhood Sanctuary is our therapist-led codependency recovery group, meeting in person in Colorado Springs. New members join after a brief screening with one of our therapists. See our Group Therapy page for details.
Is codependency therapy covered by insurance?
Often, yes, especially when it is part of treatment for anxiety, depression, or trauma. We are in network with Aetna, United Healthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, UMR, Medicare, Colorado Medicaid (Health First Colorado), and VA Community Care. Sarah can verify your benefits before your first session.
There are no shortcuts to healing.
But you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out today, and we’ll take it from there.