Co-dependency has finally become recognized in the late 1980s as a legitimate and a key issue in the chemical dependency field. Most of the literature available on the topic is addressed to the consumer--the co-dependent individual. In Co-dependency, leading therapists share some remarkable insights into the characteristics of the alcoholic home, co-dependents'patterns of responding to the alcoholic, and the particular problems that family members experience as a result of the environment, including fear, shame and guilt, anger, denial, and confusion. Clinical case material is used to illustrate the value of helping co-dependents through education, peer support, outpatient treatment and psychotherapy. Creative solutions for working with lesbian and gay men and children of alcoholics are also featured.

Bruce Carruth, Warner Mendenhall

Contents
Introduction

• Co-dependency Definitions and Dynamics
• Co-dependence: Our Most Common Addiction--Some Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Perspectives
• Assessment of Co-dependency With Individuals From Alcoholic and Chemically Dependent Families
• System Dynamics in Alcoholic Families
• Co-dependency Treatment
• Recovery for Adult Children of Alcoholics: Education, Support, Psychotherapy
• Altering Rigid Family Role Behaviors in Families With Adolescents
• The Lonely Journey: Lesbians and Gay Men Who Are Co-dependent
• The Recovering Couples Group: A Viable Treatment Alternative
• Outpatient Co-dependency Treatment