THE ONLINE THERAPIST

Mental Health Blog
By Dr Nicholas Jenner

THE ONLINE THERAPIST

Dr Nicholas Jenner

Featured Podcast

Welcome to The Online Therapist blog, dedicated to mental health and emotional wellbeing. I have been writing about these subjects for over two decades, and this site brings together my articles, podcasts, and resources on issues that affect everyday life, including relationships, codependency, narcissistic abuse, parenting, and depression. The top menu has been carefully organised to help you explore these topics more easily and find the support, insight, and guidance most relevant to your needs.

Dr Nicholas Jenner

Counselling Psychotherapist

Therapy Shorts 83: How Codependency Lives in the Body

April 2, 2026

Codependency does not only shape relationships. It affects the body as well. Chronic over-responsibility, people-pleasing and emotional vigilance can lead to exhaustion, tension, poor sleep and stress-related symptoms. This article explores how codependency lives in the body, including the role of the nervous system in keeping people stuck.

Why Codependents Let The Right Person Slip Away

March 31, 2026

Therapy Shorts 82: Want A New Start? Clear Out The Dead Wood First

March 31, 2026

How Childhood Trauma Shapes Codependency and Affects the Nervous System

March 30, 2026

Therapy Shorts 81: Codependency on The Good Men Project: Interview with Dr Nicholas Jenner

March 25, 2026

Break Free from Codependency:
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and 13 episodes of life-changing clarity.

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Group Therapy for Codependency Recovery starts again on 29 March 2026 (via Zoom), with free access to Dr Jenner’s Codependency Self-Help Programme (value $390 USD).

Introducing The All New Free From Codependency Online Therapy Hub

Therapy Shorts 80: When the Body Won’t Settle: Simple Ways to Regulate the Nervous System

Therapy Shorts 79: Why Codependents Cling to People Who Were Never Really There

Therapy Shorts 78: The Daily Practice of Detaching from Codependency

New Podcast: The Manosphere, Porn, and Consent: How Attitudes Become Relationship Damage

Therapy Shorts 77: What Are We Teaching Boys About Women?

NEW! THERAPY SHORTS

Therapy Shorts 76: Living with a Codependent Man Who Uses Porn Instead of Dealing With the Relationship

Why Codependent Men Might Turn to Porn But Narcissists Probably Will

Therapy Shorts 75: Why Codependents Choose Narcissists and Convince Themselves It’s Love

Therapy Shorts 74: Living With a Codependent: Why It Can Feel Suffocating and What Actually Helps

Therapy Shorts 73: Why Familiar Pain Feels Like Love

Join Our Next Round
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Free From Codependency

Starting November 9th, 2025

Registration is now closed

Narcissistic Abuse Recovery

Starting November 9th, 2025

Registation is now closed

explore popular posts

Are We Incompatible? Can You Really Love Someone So Different To You?

What is Avoidant Codependency?

Should your partner or spouse be part of your individual therapy and how?

The Concept of Individuality in a Relationship and Why it is Essential

Adult Issues We Should Not Be Talking To Our Children About

Narcissist Abuse Syndrome: Elements of Stockholm Syndrome and PTSD

What Does Porn Addiction Do To A Relationship?

Two Codependents Will Also Find A Relationship Difficult

Therapy Shorts 12: Recovering from Narcissistic Abuse – Understanding the Impact and Validating the Experience

Discover “Therapy Shorts,” a collection of quick insights and gentle nudges to help you along your healing journey.

This week is about Recovering from Narcissistic Abuse
These posts, published twice per week with a short audio, provide bite-sized wisdom to help you grow and discover yourself. Join me as we investigate the small ways we can bring peace, clarity, and connection into our lives.

6 Ways To Get Over A Bad Break Up… 1 to 3

Anyone who has been through a break-up will testify to the feelings that surround it. Let’s face it, no-one likes being left and in reality, also ending a relationship is not easy. Invariably,…

Combining Two Effective Therapies To Help Codependents

Codependency is a complex issue and many therapists doubt its existence. They might agree somewhat with the classic definition of codependency where an enabling partner helps an addict maintain…

Don’t Let Your Abuser Back In Your Life

The lockdown was, in fact, a haven for abusers. Their victims, who would typically have an escape route, had that route completely closed off by anti-virus procedures. It has been called by some, the shadow pandemic.

Therapy Shorts 63: If you have a Self-Centred Person in your life, don’t take this advice

Learn how to navigate a relationship with a narcissist and prioritize your mental health. Discover ways to exit toxic dynamics for good.

Therapy Shorts 12: Recovering from Narcissistic Abuse – Understanding the Impact and Validating the Experience

Discover “Therapy Shorts,” a collection of quick insights and gentle nudges to help you along your healing journey.

6 Ways To Get Over A Bad Break Up… 1 to 3

Anyone who has been through a break-up will testify to the feelings that surround it. Let’s face it, no-one likes being left and in reality, also ending a relationship is not easy. Invariably,…

Combining Two Effective Therapies To Help Codependents

Codependency is a complex issue and many therapists doubt its existence. They might agree somewhat with the classic definition of codependency where an enabling partner helps an addict maintain…

Don’t Let Your Abuser Back In Your Life

Therapy Shorts 63: If you have a Self-Centred Person in your life, don’t take this advice

Learn how to navigate a relationship with a narcissist and prioritize your mental health. Discover ways to exit toxic dynamics for good.

Therapy Shorts 72: Stop Calling It Chemistry: When “Urgent” Is Just Your Nervous System

Stop Trying to Heal Alone: The Community Move That Breaks Codependency for Good

Therapy Shorts 71: Boundaries Build Bridges… Don’t Be Afraid To Set Them

Therapy Shorts 70: The Boundary That Works Is the One You Can Keep

Practical Boundaries: How to Set Them, Say Them, and Stick to Them

Popular Categories

INNER CHILD THERAPY

CODEPENDENCY ISSUES

COUPLES THERAPY

PARENTING ADVICE

Therapy Shorts 69: Loneliness, ‘Solutionships’, and the Work of Aloneness

Therapy Shorts 68: Why You Keep Being Attracted to the Wrong People

If You Keep Choosing Distant Partners, It’s Not Romance, It’s Repetition

Therapy Shorts 67: Codependency After Cheating: Why Some People Stay, Suffer, and Call It Love

Therapy Shorts 66: After Infidelity: The Three Roads Couples Take (and the One Most End Up On)

Join Our Next Round
of Online Group Therapy

Free From Codependency

Starting November 9th, 2025

Registration is now closed

Narcissistic Abuse Recovery

Starting November 9th, 2025

Registration is now closed

EXPLORE POPULAR POSTS

Are We Incompatible? Can You Really Love Someone So Different To You?

What is Avoidant Codependency?

Should your partner or spouse be part of your individual therapy and how?

The Concept of Individuality in a Relationship and Why it is Essential

Adult Issues We Should Not Be Talking To Our Children About

Narcissist Abuse Syndrome: Elements of Stockholm Syndrome and PTSD

What Does Porn Addiction Do To A Relationship?

Two Codependents Will Also Find A Relationship Difficult

Why Codependent Men Might Turn to Porn But Narcissists Probably Will

Why do some men turn to porn instead of leaving unhappy relationships? This article explains how codependency can drive secrecy, avoidance, and nervous-system coping, while narcissistic traits are more linked to entitlement and control. Learn how to spot the difference and use a reflection exercise to gain clarity.

Infidelity and Codependency: Why Cheating Isn’t the End of the Story (and How Couples Really Respond)

Explore the complex aftermath of infidelity and codependency in relationships. Discover paths to healing and rebuilding trust effectively.

Therapy Shorts 63: If you have a Self-Centred Person in your life, don’t take this advice

Learn how to navigate a relationship with a narcissist and prioritize your mental health. Discover ways to exit toxic dynamics for good.

Therapy Shorts 57: Narcissistic and Codependent Relationships: Two Sides of the Same Wound

A clinical exploration of narcissistic and codependent relationships, how both stem from attachment wounds, and what healing through self-leadership requires.

The Real Question Isn’t ‘Will They Change?’ It’s Why Are You Staying?

If we are honest, clinically and theoretically, this type of person can change. Narcissistic traits exist on a spectrum and with long term intervention by a skilled therapist, some individuals can develop more self-awareness, emotional regulation and a degree of empathy. However, in practice, the theory doesn’t usually work because such people are very resistant to the process required to make change happen.

Therapy Shorts 12: Recovering from Narcissistic Abuse – Understanding the Impact and Validating the Experience

Discover “Therapy Shorts,” a collection of quick insights and gentle nudges to help you along your healing journey.

6 Ways To Get Over A Bad Break Up… 1 to 3

Anyone who has been through a break-up will testify to the feelings that surround it. Let’s face it, no-one likes being left and in reality, also ending a relationship is not easy. Invariably,…

Combining Two Effective Therapies To Help Codependents

Codependency is a complex issue and many therapists doubt its existence. They might agree somewhat with the classic definition of codependency where an enabling partner helps an addict maintain…

Don’t Let Your Abuser Back In Your Life

Therapy Shorts 63: If you have a Self-Centred Person in your life, don’t take this advice

Learn how to navigate a relationship with a narcissist and prioritize your mental health. Discover ways to exit toxic dynamics for good.

Therapy Shorts 12: Recovering from Narcissistic Abuse – Understanding the Impact and Validating the Experience

Discover “Therapy Shorts,” a collection of quick insights and gentle nudges to help you along your healing journey.

6 Ways To Get Over A Bad Break Up… 1 to 3

Anyone who has been through a break-up will testify to the feelings that surround it. Let’s face it, no-one likes being left and in reality, also ending a relationship is not easy. Invariably,…

Combining Two Effective Therapies To Help Codependents

Codependency is a complex issue and many therapists doubt its existence. They might agree somewhat with the classic definition of codependency where an enabling partner helps an addict maintain…

Don’t Let Your Abuser Back In Your Life

Therapy Shorts 63: If you have a Self-Centred Person in your life, don’t take this advice

Learn how to navigate a relationship with a narcissist and prioritize your mental health. Discover ways to exit toxic dynamics for good.

Therapy Shorts 12: Recovering from Narcissistic Abuse – Understanding the Impact and Validating the Experience

Discover “Therapy Shorts,” a collection of quick insights and gentle nudges to help you along your healing journey.

6 Ways To Get Over A Bad Break Up… 1 to 3

Anyone who has been through a break-up will testify to the feelings that surround it. Let’s face it, no-one likes being left and in reality, also ending a relationship is not easy. Invariably,…

Combining Two Effective Therapies To Help Codependents

Codependency is a complex issue and many therapists doubt its existence. They might agree somewhat with the classic definition of codependency where an enabling partner helps an addict maintain…

Don’t Let Your Abuser Back In Your Life

Therapy Shorts 63: If you have a Self-Centred Person in your life, don’t take this advice

Learn how to navigate a relationship with a narcissist and prioritize your mental health. Discover ways to exit toxic dynamics for good.

Therapy Shorts 65: Understanding Your Nervous System: A Guide to Managing Anxiety

Therapy Shorts 60: After a Bad Breakup: Practical Steps That Actually Help

When Love Turns Into Panic: The Three Projects That Quietly Ruin Relationships.

Therapy Shorts 59: Conscious Detachment: The Missing Ingredient in Modern Relationships

One Year Older, One Year Wiser About Life

POPULAR CATEGORIES

INNER CHILD THERAPY

FREE FROM CODEPENDENCY

COUPLES THERAPY

PARENTING ADVICE

Therapy Shorts 58: How to Cope With Difficult Family Dynamics At Christmas

Do More, Not Less: A Different Kind of New Year

Therapy Shorts 56: Understanding the Narcissistic Relationship Cycle: From Adulation to Discard

Nostalgia, Ageing & Living Alone at Christmas and Year’s End

Therapy Shorts 55: How to Heal Attachment Wounds: A Roadmap to Recovery

Join Our Next Round of Online Group Therapy FOR CODEPENDENCY

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EXPLORE POPULAR POSTS:

The Concept of Individuality in a Relationship and Why it is Essential

What is Avoidant Codependency?

Adult Issues We Should Not Be Talking To Our Children About

Two Codependents Will Also Find A Relationship Difficult

What Does Porn Addiction Do To A Relationship?

Narcissist Abuse Syndrome: Elements of Stockholm Syndrome and PTSD

Should your partner or spouse be part of your individual therapy and how?

Are We Incompatible? Can You Really Love Someone So Different To You?

Codependency: How Hyper-Vigilance Turns To Victimhood In A Never-Ending Cycle

Codependents show and exhibit many common symptoms. One of these and one that I see often with clients is hyper-vigilance, not in the sense of

How an Age Old Theory can explain why you cannot get away from the Narcissist

The belief that anyone or anything external to you possesses power over you is an illusion. The only reason they can exert power over you is because there are unresolved aspects within you that enable it.

Codependency: They Won’t Like the Healthier You — and That’s the Point

Recovery from codependency is rarely the smooth, linear process that people imagine and is often portrayed in articles and websites. It is not about being endlessly stoic, calm, or becoming detached. It’s about telling the truth and not lying to yourself and others and maybe for the first time in your life.

Cheating: What People Really Think

ust recently, infidelity in marriages has been a big topic with some of my clients. It has happened and they are struggling with the aftermath of it. Some have separated, some have separated to try to see if there can be a basis for renewal of the relationship…