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Co-Dependents Anonymous

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Co-Dependents Anonymous
AbbreviationCoDA
FormationOctober 22, 1986; 39 years ago (1986-10-22)[1]
TypeTwelve-step program; mutual aid group[2][3]
HeadquartersPhoenix, Arizona, United States[1]
Region served
Worldwide
ServicesPeer support meetings (in-person and online)
Websitecoda.org

Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) is a twelve-step program for people who share a common desire to develop functional and healthy relationships.[2][3][1]

The first CoDA meeting occurred on October 22, 1986, in Phoenix, Arizona; 30 people participated.[1][4] Within four weeks, CoDA meetings had attracted 100 participants. By the end of 1986, there were 120 CoDA groups.[5] CoDA held its first National Service Conference the next year with 29 representatives from seven states.[1]: 567 [5]

As of 2026, CoDA's meeting directory lists more than 1,000 meetings in the United States, as well as meetings in many other countries. CoDA World Service reports that meetings exist in over 70 countries worldwide. CoDA also maintains directories for online and phone meetings.[6][7]

CoDA avoids rigidly defining codependence,[1]: 4  and the understanding of codependence with CoDA continues to adapt over time. In 1991, Charles Whitfield published a 38-item Likert-type checklist based on the 1989 version of the CoDA pamphlet, "What is Co-Dependency?", known as the Co-Dependents Anonymous Checklist.[8] Later research found scores from people completing the Co-Dependents Anonymous Checklist and the Spann-Fischer Codependency Scale were strongly correlated.[9]

The checklist cited by Whitfield has subsequently developed into "The Patterns and Characteristics of Codependence". At the 2010 CoDA Service Conference (CSC), this list went from 22 items in four Patterns termed Denial, Low Self-Esteem, Compliance, and Control, to 55 items divided into the same groups with the addition of Avoidance Patterns.[10] Examples of these patterns include: "I have difficulty identifying what I am feeling... I judge what I think, say or do harshly, as never good enough... I put aside my own interests in order to do what others want... I freely offer advice and direction to others without being asked... I use indirect or evasive communication to avoid conflict or confrontation."[11]

Criticism

CoDA describes itself as a fellowship for people who share a common desire to develop functional and healthy relationships.[3] Codependency is not a clinical diagnosis; it has never been included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and there are no universally used definitions or diagnostic criteria for it.[12] Researchers note that people who identify as codependent often attribute their difficulties to their family of origin, and relate the concept to family systems theory, such as Murray Bowen's idea of differentiation of self.[12]

As with other open twelve-step meetings, members are not screened, and journalists have reported cases in which people used twelve-step meetings to target vulnerable newcomers.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Codependents Anonymous (1995). Codependents Anonymous. Phoenix, AZ: Codependents Anonymous, Inc. ISBN 0-9647105-0-1.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rice, John Steadman (1996). A Disease of One's Own: Psychotherapy, Addiction, and the Emergence of Co-Dependency. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0765804549. OCLC 33009336.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Co-Dependents Anonymous (1998). "The Preamble of Co-Dependents Anonymous". Co-Dependents Anonymous. Archived from the original on 1999-11-10. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
  4. ↑ Irvine, Leslie (1995). "Codependency and Recovery: Gender, Self, and Emotions in Popular Self-Help". Symbolic Interaction. 18 (2): 145–163. doi:10.1525/si.1995.18.2.145.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Irvine, Leslie (1999). Codependent Forevermore: The Invention of Self in a Twelve Step Group. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-226-38474-0.
  6. ↑ "International Meetings". CoDA.org. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  7. ↑ "World-wide Support". CoDA.org. Retrieved 2026-01-18.
  8. ↑ Charles L. Whitfield (1991). "Appendix B: Diagnostic and Survey Instruments". Co-dependence: Healing the human condition. Deerfield Beach, Florida: Health Communications, Inc. pp. 277–278. ISBN 155874150X. OCLC 23180004.
  9. ↑ Lindley, Natasha R.; Giordano, Peter J.; Hammer, Elliott D. (1999). "Codependency: Predictors and psychometric issues". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 55 (1): 59–64. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199901)55:1<59::AID-JCLP5>3.0.CO;2-M. PMID 10100831.
  10. ↑ "Patterns and Characteristics of Codependence". Archived from the original on 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
  11. ↑ Codependents Anonymous Inc. "Recovery from Codependence". Codependents Anonymous Inc. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Bacon, Ingrid; McKay, Elizabeth; Reynolds, Frances; McIntyre, Anne (2018). "The Lived Experience of Codependency: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis". International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. doi:10.1007/s11469-018-9983-8.
  13. ↑ Glaser, Gabrielle (24 June 2013). "Twelve Steps to Danger: How Alcoholics Anonymous Can Be a Playground for Violence-Prone Members". ProPublica. Retrieved 2026-10-02.

Need support? This page covers a topic that some readers may find difficult. If it affects you or someone you know, you do not have to deal with it alone. Help is available from the NHS and from free, confidential helplines: see Where to get help at the end of this page, or the Wellness hub. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999.

Where to get help

If you are worried about your mental health or someone else's, these services can help. The numbers below are for the United Kingdom.

  • Emergency: if someone is in immediate danger or has been seriously hurt, call 999.
  • NHS 111: for urgent help or advice that is not an emergency, call 111 or use NHS 111 online. It is free and open day and night.
  • Your GP: a GP can talk with you about how you are feeling and can refer you to services, including NHS Talking Therapies.
  • Samaritans: call 116 123, free, day or night, to talk to someone who will listen.
  • Childline: children and young people under 19 can call 0800 1111 free, or talk online at childline.org.uk.
  • Shout: text SHOUT to 85258 for free, confidential text support at any time.
  • Outside the UK: Find A Helpline is a free directory of helplines in other countries.

For support in other countries, and for more services, see the Wellness hub and Pip's support guide.


Attribution

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