Breaking Free from the Codependency Trap
When love becomes self-neglect, it’s time to heal.
What is Codependency?
Reclaim Yourself in Relationships
Codependency is a behavioural and emotional pattern in which one person’s identity becomes overly tied to meeting the needs of another. It often masquerades as love or loyalty—but beneath the surface, it involves self-sacrifice, low self-worth, and emotional dependency.
This complex dynamic creates a circular relationship where one partner plays the “caretaker” role and the other remains reliant, resulting in a loss of personal boundaries, unmet needs, and emotional burnout.
Codependency vs. Healthy Dependence
It’s important to distinguish between healthy mutual dependence and codependency:
Healthy Dependence
Mutual support and emotional reliance
Individual interests and identities are maintained
Needs are expressed and met on both sides
Emotional expression is balanced
Codependency
One person’s worth is tied to being needed
One partner has no identity outside the relationship
One partner suppresses their needs to maintain the relationship
Feelings of guilt arise when focusing on oneself
In a codependent relationship, both individuals are impacted:
The caretaker may neglect their own well-being, career, or other relationships.
The dependent partner may become emotionally stunted, overly reliant, or controlling.
Symptoms of Codependency
Common signs include:
Prioritising the other person’s needs at all costs
Constant anxiety about keeping your partner happy
Guilty feelings when trying to care for yourself
Staying in the relationship despite toxic or harmful behaviours
Sacrificing personal health, time, or identity
Fear of abandonment driving compulsive caretaking
Feeling responsible for the other person’s actions, feelings, or choices
These patterns often feel “normal” to those experiencing them—especially when they’ve been internalised since childhood.
How Codependency Develops
Codependency is often learned in early life and reinforced over time. Contributing factors may include:
Emotionally immature or self-centred parenting
Growing up with an alcoholic or addicted family member
Being a caregiver to a chronically ill parent or sibling
Surviving abuse or trauma, leading to people-pleasing and self-erasure as a coping mechanism
Over time, children who grow up in these environments may equate love with self-sacrifice and feel unsafe setting boundaries.
Breaking the Cycle: How Therapy Helps
At Listening Ear Counselling & Consultancy Pte. Ltd., Karl works with individuals to identify, understand, and gently untangle the patterns of codependency. Through trauma-informed, client-centred therapy, individuals can begin to reclaim their identity and foster healthy, two-sided relationships.
In therapy, you will:
Explore the origins of your codependent patterns
Learn to set emotional and behavioural boundaries
Develop self-worth and confidence independent of your partner
Build the capacity to say “no” without guilt
Reconnect with your personal interests, goals, and values
Address enabling behaviours and emotional triggers
Challenge the fear of abandonment that often underpins codependency
From Enabling to Empowering
A key element of codependency is enabling—where one partner’s caretaking unintentionally sustains the other’s unhealthy behaviours (e.g., addiction, irresponsibility, or emotional immaturity).
Therapy helps both individuals:
Recognise how enabling keeps the cycle going
Shift from “rescuing” to “supporting” in healthy ways
Take responsibility for their own healing
Learn to relate from a place of mutual respect—not dependency
A Therapist’s Role in Recovery
Karl provides a safe, non-judgmental space for deep work in the following areas:
Help clients understand how codependency has shaped their identity, relationships, and boundaries
Normalise the need for help and validate their lived experiences
Conduct a full assessment of relationship dynamics, emotional health, and personal history
Co-create therapy goals: from developing independence to rebuilding self-esteem
Use trauma-informed and evidence-based techniques (e.g., inner child work, CBT, emotion-focused therapy)
Address related issues such as anxiety, people-pleasing, or low self-worth
Prevent relapse into old patterns by developing emotional resilience
Teach assertiveness, self-soothing, and healthy communication
Encourage building a fulfilling life beyond the relationship
Our Counselling Fees
| Session Type | Investment | Additional Charges | Cancellation Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-Person Sessions | SGD 250 | – SGD 50 after-hours surcharge -Transportation fees for out-of-office sessions or different venues | Reschedule or cancel with 36+ hours’ notice. Late changes or no-shows incur full session investment. |
| Virtual Sessions (Zoom) | SGD 200 (PayNow) SGD 250 (Other Methods) | – SGD 50 after-hours surcharge | Same as above. |
What Clients say about our Counselling in Singapore
Professionally Trained, Trauma-Informed & Culturally Attuned
Evidence-Based & Grounded in Real Life
Culturally Sensitive & Globally Informed
Respectful of Complex, Delicate Issues
Neutral, Non-Judgemental & Confidential Space
Reclaim Your Self-Worth
Healing from codependency is not about walking away from love—it’s about learning to love yourself, too. You can still care deeply for others without losing yourself in the process. If you feel emotionally drained, invisible, or stuck in a cycle of pleasing and overgiving, we’re here to help you break free.
📞 Contact Listening Ear Counselling & Consultancy Pte. Ltd. to start your journey toward empowerment, self-trust, and healthier relationships.