About CoDA

Who are we?

Codependents Anonymous; CoDA is a worldwide fellowship of men and women with the common goal of learning to develop healthy relationships that recognize codependency.

The only requirement for membership is a desire for fulfilling and loving relationships.

CoDA is a spiritual, non-religious program.

CoDA must always remain non-professional and is not affiliated with any organizations outside of CoDA. Co-Dependents Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues: therefore the CoDA name ought never to be drawn into public controversy.

What do we do?

We work according to the twelve steps and twelve traditions as adapted for our purpose, based on the twelve step program of Alcoholics Anonymous.

We attend meetings, read CoDA literature, work on the step work with a step work group or a sponsor (a fellow CoDA member) and make use of the support of our fellow codependents in the program.

In this way we gain new insights and find recognition with each other, on our path of self-discovery on the way to self-love.

The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

We are on a journey to discover ourselves and learn to love ourselves, and we come together to support each other and to share our experiences. When we live according to the program of the Twelve Steps, we can be honest with ourselves about our personal history and our own codependent behavior.

In this we rely on the knowledge and wisdom described in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions as adopted from Alcoholics Anonymous and adapted for our purpose. They form the principles of our program and are guidelines for developing honest and satisfying relationships with others and with ourselves.

In Codependents Anonymous we learn to build a relationship with a Higher Power as we imagine it, and we grant others the same privilege. The resulting process of renewal is a gift for our recovery. By actively following the Codependents Anonymous program, we can bring a new peace, acceptance, and happiness into our lives.