Co-Dependency

Co-dependency has finally become recognized in the late 1980s as a legitimate and a key issue in the chemical dependency field. Most of the literature available on the topic is addressed to the consumer--the co-dependent individual. In Co-dependency, leading therapists share some remarkable insights into the characteristics of the alcoholic home, co-dependentspatterns of responding to the alcoholic, and the particular problems that family members experience as a result of the environment, including fear, shame and guilt, anger, denial, and confusion. Clinical case material is used to illustrate the value of helping co-dependents through education, peer support, outpatient treatment and psychotherapy. Creative solutions for working with lesbian and gay men and children of alcoholics are also featured.

Contents Introduction

• Co-dependency Definitions and Dynamics
• Co-dependence: Our Most Common Addiction--Some Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Perspectives
• Assessment of Co-dependency With Individuals From Alcoholic and Chemically Dependent Families
• System Dynamics in Alcoholic Families
• Co-dependency Treatment
• Recovery for Adult Children of Alcoholics: Education, Support, Psychotherapy
• Altering Rigid Family Role Behaviors in Families With Adolescents
• The Lonely Journey: Lesbians and Gay Men Who Are Co-dependent
• The Recovering Couples Group: A Viable Treatment Alternative
• Outpatient Co-dependency Treatment