Codependency- The Core of Addiction

Sunday, November 10, 2024

2:15 PM - 3:15 PM

Session Description: Codependency is a pop-psychology term, another way of describing attachment wounding. The pattern of codependency may also be understood as complex trauma, attachment trauma, or small "t" trauma. Its behavioral patterns are fueled by shame, fear, guilt, and the need to control feelings by controlling what is going on outside of us. Ironically, the anxiety inherent in codependency is often what the addict or I.P. is medicating. Codependency doesn't "cause" the addiction in others, nor does the healing of codependency "cure" addiction in others. It is critical that we not use the promise of "fixing others" as the impetus for healing one's own attachment (coda) issues. In the treatment of addiction, many practitioners rely on their lived-life experiences, but this suggests a need to understand their own “personal” countertransference and can distinguish that from “diagnostic” countertransference. As professionals, we must come to know our own codependency to avoid falling into damaging countertransference errors. Confrontation and manipulation with the I.P. or the family does not necessitate shaming and controlling messages from therapists and other treatment professionals. This talk would be a call to professionals working in the field of addiction to stop dismissing poor outcomes as merely a function of clients, families, and the disease, but instead to understand how their methods may be contributing to resistance.