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686,000 people sought help with Thriveworks in the last year

Discover how starting therapy with a dependent personality disorder can support your own journey toward a happier, more fulfilling life.

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Starting Dependent personality disorder therapy

What is dependent personality disorder therapy?

Dependent personality disorder therapy from our therapists in Raleigh, NC helps clients establish their individuality and self-reliance, as those with dependent personality disorder harshly criticize themselves and underestimate their abilities.

How does dependent personality disorder therapy work?

Dependent personality disorder therapy often involves exploration into one’s past — specifically, events or relationships that may have led to the development of their dependent personality disorder. These experiences and their subsequent behaviors are discussed to help one develop healthier behaviors moving forward.

Is dependent personality disorder therapy conducted in person or online?

Dependent personality disorder therapy at Thriveworks is conducted both in person and online by video. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.

How long does dependent personality disorder therapy last?

Dependent personality disorder with a provider at Thriveworks in Raleigh, NC is a short-term therapy, as long-form treatment can lead to the development of a dependence on one’s therapist.

Need more help deciding?

See if you can identify this story: When she was a little girl, her mother died. Soon thereafter, her father remarried a woman who had two young daughters about her age. It was not long before her father passed away as well, and her stepmother’s true nature was revealed. She was forced to become the family’s servant. She complied with their every whim and accepted their every criticism. As time passed, she lost her own sense of self until her animal friends and fairy-Godmother came to her rescue. Now, she is living happily ever after with her prince charming. Who is the main character of this story? Cinderella is an easy story to identify. Most people know the storyline, but what most people do not know is that Cinderella’s life aligns closely with the symptoms of a mental disorder: Dependent Personality Disorder.

Sometimes called “The Cinderella Complex,” people who have Dependent Personality Disorder may comply easily with the caretakers and authority figures in their lives and willingly accept criticism from them. They often have low self-esteem and believe that they cannot take care of their own needs. Therefore, they look to others for their support, guidance, and provision (or in Cinderella’s case, deliverance). Dependent Personality Disorder brings a number of challenges into an individual’s personal and professional life, but a number of treatments have proven effective in treating the disorder. Dependency is not an inevitably—independence is often worth fighting for.

“You are constantly invited to be what you are.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thriveworks Counseling in Raleigh offers appointments for Dependent Personality Disorder, and we have worked with many clients who are fighting for independence. We understand how dependency functions and what it takes to find freedom.

Risk Factors of Dependency

It is important to know what Dependent Personality Disorder is and what it is not. First, what dependency is not: a stage of development or a cultural practice. Many cultures practice deference to authority figures. Certain practices, when viewed in isolation, may overlap with Dependent Personality Disorder. However, when viewed within the larger context, it is clear that these cultural practices are not a disorder but away that people can show respect. Similarly, children and teens rely upon their caregivers for their well-being. While children depend upon their parents or guardians, this is not a disorder either—it is a natural stage of development.

While Dependent Personality Disorder can develop at any time, it is most often diagnosed in early adulthood. Often, an individual with the disorder is unable to transition from adolescence into independence. When people have the disorder, their risk for other depressive, personality, anxiety, and adjustment disorders also rises. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) outlines for the full diagnostics for Dependent Personality Disorder (301.6[F70.7]).

Recognizing Dependent Personality Disorder’s

Dependency is about the way a person thinks as well as about the way a person behaves. Certain untrue thinking patterns that are untrue hold people down into dependency. Two particularly destructive beliefs are different sides of the same coin. Dependency can teach people that they are incapable of meeting their own material and psychological needs, and thus, they must rely upon other people to meet those needs. It naturally follows that people with the disorder struggle with anxiety, self-degradation, and clinginess.

The DSM-5 gives the full diagnostics of Dependent Personality Disorder’s behaviors and emotions that may flow from these thoughts:

  1. Behavior that is very deferential.
  2. A core need for someone to provide for them.
  3. Anxiety when disconnected from care givers.

In addition, a minimum of five of these symptoms will be present:

  • Seeking advice and reassurance for any and every decision made…from what to study in school to where to eat dinner to which color sweater to buy.
  • Being uncomfortable alone and going extreme to never be by oneself.
  • Handing over responsibility and authority of major areas within one’s life to an authority figure or caretaker (e.g., having someone else pay the bills).
  • Conforming one’s own values, beliefs, ideas, thoughts, and preferences to align with other people and ensure their continued support and nurture.
  • Deep-seated fear of being abandoned by an authority figure or caregiver.
  • Being overly compliant with an authority figure’s demands.
  • When an authority or caretaking relationship ends, hopping quickly to another.

Dependent Personality Disorder severely limits a person’s ability to function well in their personal and professional life. Professionally, employment is often an issue. People with the disorder may have challenges finding or maintaining a job. Personally, people with the disorder often have limited social circles. Mutual relationships can be difficult for them because these relationships tend to escalate into caretaking relationships.

Scheduling Counseling at Thriveworks in Raleigh for Dependent Personality Disorder

Dependent Personality Disorder can introduce severe challenges into an individual’s life, but it is possible to live a unique, independent life. Many therapeutic strategies have proven effective in healing dependency and equipping people to live in self-reliance. If you are ready to seek treatment for your dependency, consider reaching out to Thriveworks Counseling in Raleigh, NC. When you contact our office, a scheduling specialist will answer your call and help you make an appointment. New clients often meet with their therapist within 24 hours of their first call. Weekend and evening sessions are offered, but we do not put our clients on a waitlist. We also accept many difference insurance plans and work with many different insurance companies. Let’s work together. Call today.

Pricing & insurance

Our therapists accept most major insurances. We accept 585+ insurance plans, and offer self-pay options, too.
Learn more about pricing for therapy and counseling services at Thriveworks.

Our Raleigh therapists and counselors accept 27 insurance plans

  • Aetna

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield | Anthem (Blue Card)

  • Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina | BCBS

  • Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina | BCBS Medicare Advantage

  • Carelon

  • Caresource

  • Carolina Behavioral Health Alliance (CBHA)

  • Cigna | Evernorth

  • Cigna | Evernorth EAP

  • Cigna | Evernorth Medicare Advantage

  • Community Health Options

  • Compsych

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Self-pay costs at Raleigh
Talk therapy

Talk therapy

Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Talk therapy

Psychiatry

Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Hear from our clients

4.9 Learn about verified reviews
★★★★★
I love my therapist and psychiatrist
John Feb 2024
Thriveworks.com verified review
★★★★★
Very helpful She is a pro. I know because I’ve had a lot of therapists. I’d give Thriveworks 6 stars if I could
Read more Very helpful She is a pro. I know because I’ve had a lot of therapists. I’d give Thriveworks 6 stars if I could
Alfred Feb 2024
Thriveworks.com verified review
★★★★★
My online visits with William have been a God-send! His style is relaxed, but attentive. I highly recommend ThriveWorks for your counseling needs.
Read more My online visits with William have been a God-send! His style is relaxed, but attentive. I highly recommend ThriveWorks for your counseling needs.
Jody Feb 2024
Thriveworks.com verified review
★★★★★
Had bad fall last year and I was feeling sad, depressed and angry cuz now I couldn't go to see my auntie mom like I was doing two or three times a year.  Now I have to be home I broke my wrist in two places now I have doctors and doctors and doctors and x-rays and all this other stuff going on and I felt like I didn't have my life, didn't have a life right then and I know I would get better but it was taking too long so that was infecting me mentally and so I found the Thriveworks card at my pain doctors office and I gave him a call and immediately they set me up with an appointment.  I've had three or four appointments now.  I'm starting to feel better because I live by myself, I'm 71, and I needed someone to talk to so y'all set me up with a very nice lady.  I learned out to do Zoom and a couple meetings of course, but I'm feeling better  as time goes on.  I still have to have another surgery but at least I'm closer to being able to traveling again right now I can even walk a half a block so thank you Thriveworks for being there for me.  I don't know how ling I need you but I'm glad you're there.  My person is kind to start phone she allows me to talk, she gives me feedback, and I'm just so grateful to have had her during this holiday as well so I've also recommended a couple other people to try Thriveworks right at my doctor's office and they seem interested.  Thank you Thriveworks
Read more Had bad fall last year and I was feeling sad, depressed and angry cuz now I couldn't go to see my auntie mom like I was doing two or three times a year.  Now I have to be home I broke my wrist in two places now I have doctors and doctors and doctors and x-rays and all this other stuff going on and I felt like I didn't have my life, didn't have a life right then and I know I would get better but it was taking too long so that was infecting me mentally and so I found the Thriveworks card at my pain doctors office and I gave him a call and immediately they set me up with an appointment.  I've had three or four appointments now.  I'm starting to feel better because I live by myself, I'm 71, and I needed someone to talk to so y'all set me up with a very nice lady.  I learned out to do Zoom and a couple meetings of course, but I'm feeling better  as time goes on.  I still have to have another surgery but at least I'm closer to being able to traveling again right now I can even walk a half a block so thank you Thriveworks for being there for me.  I don't know how ling I need you but I'm glad you're there.  My person is kind to start phone she allows me to talk, she gives me feedback, and I'm just so grateful to have had her during this holiday as well so I've also recommended a couple other people to try Thriveworks right at my doctor's office and they seem interested.  Thank you Thriveworks
Jean Jan 2024
Thriveworks.com verified review
★★★★★
Ava has been a joy to collaborate with. Great insight and very professional. As a DSS Social Worker My kids enjoy their sessions with Mrs. Ava and she is able to connect with my kids like no other therapist.
Read more Ava has been a joy to collaborate with. Great insight and very professional. As a DSS Social Worker My kids enjoy their sessions with Mrs. Ava and she is able to connect with my kids like no other therapist.
Raleigh Sep 2020
Review left on Thriveworks.com
★★★★★
I have known Mrs. Ashley Barber-Brown for 18 years now and I can honestly say that she is truly an amazing person. Besides her strong will to work hard and take care of her family, Ashley is also compassionate and undoubtedly dedicated to making sure that she helps others. Her selflessness, loyalty and authentic personality are just some of the many attributes that I admire about her.
Read more I have known Mrs. Ashley Barber-Brown for 18 years now and I can honestly say that she is truly an amazing person. Besides her strong will to work hard and take care of her family, Ashley is also compassionate and undoubtedly dedicated to making sure that she helps others. Her selflessness, loyalty and authentic personality are just some of the many attributes that I admire about her.
Raleigh Aug 2020
Review left on Thriveworks.com
★★★★★
Ava Baker is a wonderful therapist, she is patient, kind and I feel very comfortable talking to her. I think she is an asset to your company.
Read more Ava Baker is a wonderful therapist, she is patient, kind and I feel very comfortable talking to her. I think she is an asset to your company.
Raleigh Aug 2020
Review left on Thriveworks.com
★★★★
Caitlyn Dowdy is attentive and thoughtful with her words. She helps bring focus to your goals and offers a safe place to constructively discuss feelings and needs.
Read more Caitlyn Dowdy is attentive and thoughtful with her words. She helps bring focus to your goals and offers a safe place to constructively discuss feelings and needs.
Raleigh Jan 2020
Review left on Thriveworks.com

Where to find us

Getting here

Thriveworks Counseling & Psychiatry Raleigh is located at 8406 Six Forks Rd Suite 104, Raleigh, NC 27615, next to Spherion

Phone number

(919) 642-4857

Languages spoken by NC providers

  • Hindi
  • Russian
  • Urdu
  • English
  • Punjabi
  • Creole
  • French
Tuesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Wednesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Thursday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Friday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Saturday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Sunday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Monday 8:00am - 9:00pm

Shown in ET

Tuesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Wednesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Thursday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Friday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Saturday 7:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Monday 7:00am - 9:30pm

Shown in ET

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