For the Newcomer

We advise every newcomer to attend 5 meetings before deciding if it is something for you. There are both online and physical meetings to visit. On the meeting list you can find an overview of the meetings with contact details. Each meeting is a separate group, but all follow the same principles of Co-dependents Anonymous.

Attending your first meeting
– What can you expect?

First, you choose a meeting that you want to attend. Each meeting has a greeter who will receive you. If you are attending a physical meeting, you can let the contact person of the meeting know that you want to attend the meeting if you like.

The meetings follow a fixed structure. Although there are sometimes small differences in the structure or order of elements in the different meetings.

You can find further information about the meetings in the meeting list.

A ‘closed meeting’ is only for codependents and an ‘open’ meeting is also accessible to non-codependent visitors (friends and family, for example).

In an open dialogue meeting there is room to talk to each other, which is guided by the chairperson who explains the guidelines.

Meetinglist

Meeting structure

Opening:
A chairperson opens the meeting and asks if there are any newcomers. You are then asked to introduce yourself with your first name only.

Reading cards
Then there are fixed reading cards that are read in a fixed order, including for example:

Introduction, What is codependency? The twelve steps. The twelve traditions. Patterns and Characteristics.

Topic of the meeting, can differ per week:

Literature; steps or traditions

Topics; topics to share

Speaker; a speaker who comes to tell his/her story

Sharing round
After the discussed topic follows a sharing section, in which all participants are given the opportunity to share whoever wants what he/she/they are concerned with or in response to the previously discussed topic.

During sharing, there is no reaction to each other, “cross-sharing”. You speak from the I-form and not with you/you. This way we keep the meeting safe. Everyone is welcome to be there, wherever they are in their recovery, and nothing that is shared is strange or unimportant. If you have questions or want feedback, there is room for that after the meeting.

The chairperson will indicate how long the share section will last.

Closing Meeting
After the share section, a number of reading cards will follow, such as: The twelve promises and the serenity prayer.

The spiritual foundation of our program, Anonymity, is also remembered. What is said and who you have seen, remains within the meeting.

The meetings are funded by voluntary contributions from participants, which we call the 7th tradition. We do not accept contributions from newcomers.