Codependency Treatment

People who are codependent suffer an emotional and behavioral condition that affects their ability to have a healthy, satisfying relationship with others. You might be codependent if you show excessive or inappropriate care for someone else – usually someone with a drinking or drug problem. Codependents often have low self-esteem and some try to stifle those feelings of inadequacy by using alcohol, drugs or smoking. Others might develop compulsive activities such as working too hard, gambling or involving themselves in risky affairs.

Most often, codependency affects the spouse or lover, parent, brother or sister, friend or co-worker of an alcoholic or drug addict. But in some cases, codependency can arise as a result of child abuse, prompting feelings of shame and “not being good enough.” A person with codependency issues always has good intentions. They want to take care of their loved one, often covering for them by calling in sick for a wife who is suffering a hangover, or phoning school to report a child’s illness when the child is really truant. But these “good intentions” or “rescue missions” only enable the substance abuser to continue his or her destructive course.

So how do you determine where you might have crossed that line from being a “kind, caring person” to becoming a codependent? Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you have an exaggerated sense of responsibility for the actions of others?
• Are you hurt when people don’t recognize your efforts?
• Do you constantly think about a loved one’s drinking or drug problem?
• Do you have a tendency to confuse love and pity, with a proclivity for “loving” those you can pity and rescue?
• Can you no longer count on one hand the number of times you’ve tried to “save” or “rescue” the substance abuser?
• After numerous disappointments, do you say you can’t go on like this, yet you continue to do so?
• What happens when friends suggest you leave the object of your obsession – maybe after he has drained your savings account or has been caught in yet another affair? Do you tell them it’s none of their business, or proclaim you couldn’t leave him?

If you can identify with even a few of these questions, it’s possible you need professional help for your problem. Morningside Recovery in Newport Beach, California, has a seasoned staff of licensed psychologists and psychiatrists, trained in codependent behaviors and able to formulate a game plan for your specific behavioral situation.

Codependency can be an incredibly debilitating behavioral health issue that can impact a person psychologically, occupationally and socially. This disorder can have devastating consequences to a codependent person’s self esteem, and in a worse-case scenario can lead to impulsive behavior due to loss of control, whether actual or perceived. It also impacts their ability to have healthy friendships and relationships.

Morningside’s treatment regimen includes a combination of support groups, in conjunction with intensive individual therapy, and a commitment to recover and interact with primary relationships in a different manner, Fowler said. Upon admission, clients receive comprehensive assessment and testing to identify if there were co-morbid psychiatric or psychological issues in conjunction to the primary admission issue of codependency. A treatment plan will be developed based on outcome of testing, and generally will consist of very intensive therapy and community-based support groups.

It’s time to take the leap and begin the process of helping yourself. If you think you have codependency issues, or if someone close to you has codependency issues, make an appointment with the admissions and intake staff at Morningside Recovery by calling

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