Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) is a twelve-step program for people who share a common desire to develop functional and healthy relationships.
National 12 step meetings and Anonymous Groups is a growing repository of meeting data for all well-known established 12 step groups. From coast-to-coast in the USA, this is a growing and free resource to update meetings for all anonymous 12 step groups. The purpose is simple. Provide necessary logistics via maps, precisely the location of a community of people seeking recovery in a private setting. Often times, there isn’t one resource that compiles the meeting locations for all groups, thereby making attendance quite difficult and threatening to one’s recovery. We hope that with your participation, we collectively are able to achieve this goal.
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Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) is a 12-step program meant to give support and direction to codependent persons. Codependency is a pattern of behavior in which a person overly depends on another person for affirmation, self-esteem, or a feeling of purpose. Codependent persons often struggle with boundaries, communication, and self-care, and may find themselves in emotionally or physically abusive dysfunctional relationships.
CoDA was created in 1986 as a fellowship of persons committed to recovery who share their experiences, strength, and hope with one another. The program stresses personal responsibility, accountability, and self-awareness and is based on the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step programs.
CoDA’s 12 steps are comparable to those of other 12-step programs, but are customized particularly to the requirements of persons battling codependency. Individuals are encouraged to take responsibility for their own well-being, establish appropriate boundaries, and develop meaningful connections with others via this program.
CoDA’s first step is to acknowledge helplessness over codependence. This phase promotes people to recognize that their behavior patterns are unhealthy and unsustainable, and that they need assistance to escape the cycle of codependence. The second step is acknowledging the need for a higher power in the healing process, and the third step is deciding to surrender one’s life to this force.
The fourth phase is taking a moral inventory of oneself, reviewing one’s behavior patterns, and recognizing negative tendencies that may contribute to codependency. The fifth step is to acknowledge one’s shortcomings to oneself, a higher power, and another person. This stage is intended to assist people in letting go of shame and guilt and beginning the healing process.
The sixth stage is preparing to have these flaws eliminated, while the seventh step entails respectfully requesting that the higher authority remove them. Making a list of all those who have been injured by codependent conduct and being willing to make apologies to them is the eighth stage. The ninth step is to make direct reparations whenever feasible, unless doing so will do oneself or others damage.
The eleventh stage is continuing to conduct personal inventory and acknowledging faults without delay. The eleventh step is attempting to strengthen one’s conscious connection with a higher power via prayer, meditation, or other spiritual activities. The twelfth and last step is to spread the CoDA message to those who may be dealing with codependency and to use these principles in all aspect of one’s life.
CoDA also stresses the need of finding a sponsor, or a more experienced member who can provide direction and support during the recovery process. As people move through the 12 stages, sponsors may give practical counsel, share their own experiences, and provide accountability.
CoDA is distinguished by its emphasis on developing community and connections among its members. Individuals are encouraged to attend frequent gatherings where they may share their experiences and provide one another support. CoDA also offers tools and assistance to anyone who may be struggling to comprehend and manage codependency.
CoDA is not meant to replace standard medical or psychiatric therapy for codependency; rather, it is designed to supplement it. Individuals are encouraged to engage with a therapist or other healthcare professional, if necessary, and to seek further help outside of the group.
Concerns have been made by critics of CoDA about the program’s tendency to foster a victim mentality or encourage people to attribute their issues on others. Yet, CoDA promotes personal responsibility and accountability and encourages people to accept responsibility for their own behavior patterns and create good life changes.