Codependency and Addiction

Many individuals grew up in families that were not able to provide them with the nurturing and the skills that they needed to learn how to value themselves and develop strong, healthy relationships with others.

As a consequence, they become codependent, or emotionally dependent on others for feelings of self-esteem and self-worth. Quite often, codependents were raised in families affected by alcoholism, drug addiction, or some sort of abuse, be it physical, emotional or sexual. The shame and fear that results from these childhood wounds can result in a damaged relationship with self as well as patterns that can interfere with emotional intimacy in relationships.

Co-dependents allow another person's behavior to negatively affect him or her and, to feel better about themselves, try constantly to “rescue” that person by controlling or fixing their behavior. In the end, all this does is enable the behavior through denial.

Recovery from codependency involves letting go of shame and internalizing a sense of intrinsic value. Throughout the course of your outpatient therapy at the Hanley Center, our counselors will help you recover from the effects of shame so that you can take responsibility for your own happiness and develop relationships based on openness, security, and trust.

We also offer Awakenings, a 3-day, psycho-educational program designed to help you reconnect with yourself and with others in deeper and more authentic ways by addressing unresolved feelings of shame and fear.