Beyond Codependency

Do you know the actual definition of codependent? No? That’s okay, because no one does. It’s a term that was created by treatment professionals in the 80’s. In the early 80’s when treatment centers became overrun with people abusing and addicted to alcohol and drugs, clinicians attempted to lump them all together and find one label to cover the myriad of phases of addiction their clients were showing up in (read: diagnoses were becoming more and more difficult to make, and were often wrong). This led to a change in the terminology from “alcoholism” and “addicted” to “chemical dependency”. On tonight's podcast we'll discuss where the term "codependent" came from, and whether or not it actually applies to you.