Other Pathways to Recovery
Recovery isn't only about substances. A lot of us find that our relationships need healing too. Some people in our community use CoDA for that, either on its own or alongside other support, and we want you to know it's an option.
Co-Dependents Anonymous is a 12 Step fellowship for people who want to build healthy, functional relationships, with others and with themselves. Its first meeting was held in Phoenix, Arizona, in October 1986, with about 30 people. By the end of that year there were already 120 groups.
CoDA has meetings around the world, including online and phone meetings, and it's fully self supporting.
The idea of codependency grew out of the addiction recovery world, especially families of people struggling with alcohol, but some of its roots go back much further. Here are some of the people and ideas that shaped it, plus one we think fits right alongside them.
Psychoanalysis · 1940s and 1950s
Horney was a psychoanalyst who wrote about what she called "morbid dependency," where a person loses themselves in another person. She never used the word codependency, but later writers have connected her ideas to it.
About Karen Horney →Late 1970s
The word codependency likely came out of addiction treatment in Minnesota in the late 1970s, from the older term "co-alcoholic." It described people whose lives were turned upside down by a relationship with someone struggling with addiction. Al-Anon, the 12 Step group for families and friends of alcoholics, shaped a lot of early thinking about it.
The history of codependency →Codependent No More · 1986
Beattie's bestselling book is what made codependency a household word, and it came out the same year CoDA started. She drew on her own recovery, her experience caring for someone with an addiction, and interviews with Al-Anon members.
About Melody Beattie →The CoDA checklist · 1991
Whitfield, a physician, created a checklist in 1991 based on CoDA's early pamphlet "What is Co-Dependency?" That checklist grew into the "Patterns and Characteristics of Codependence" that many CoDA members use today.
More on CoDA's history →Timmen Cermak and the debate
In 1986, psychiatrist Timmen Cermak argued that codependency should be an official diagnosis. That never happened; it isn't in the DSM or ICD. Many people still find it a useful way to understand patterns in their relationships, which is how CoDA uses it.
Read more →These links go to outside sites. They're here for learning, not as endorsements.
We don't host CoDA meetings right now. Some of our members are involved with CoDA and are happy to talk about it. If you have questions or just want to talk with someone who uses it, contact a moderator or meeting chair.
They're members sharing their own experience and don't speak for CoDA. For official meetings and literature, go straight to CoDA.
Find a CoDA Meeting Visit CoDAWhatever path you're on, our Discord chat is open 24/7 so there's always someone to talk to.
Join Our Discord ServerDisclaimer: Recovery Underground is an independent, peer led online recovery community and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA). No CoDA meetings are currently hosted in our space. CoDA is separate from Narcotics Anonymous and from the New Way to Live NA Group. We provide nonclinical peer support and are not a treatment provider. In an emergency, contact local emergency services. In the US, call or text 988.
