Codependency
Are You Caught in a Drama Triangle?
When we continue to enable dysfunctional behavior, we fall prey to the Drama Triangle. Developed by Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UC, San Francisco Stephen Karman, the Drama Triangle consists of three roles, Victim, Rescuer, and Persecutor. While you might see yourself and your loved ones as a specific role, in truth, each person…
Read MoreStop Repeating the Same Mistakes of Enabling Bad Behavior
Have you ever become frustrated because you find yourself in the same (or similar) predicament over and over with a loved one who will not change? How many times do you realize, often too late, that as careful as you thought you were being, you made choices that led you down the same old path…
Read MoreWhen Helping Hurts – Enabling the Addiction of Your Child
When I was a beginning therapist and working in community mental health, I witnessed an example of what happens when families fall victim to enabling the addiction of their children. One of our services to the community was to help complete the paperwork for involuntarily hospitalization for a loved one’s treatment. Two families came in…
Read MoreHelping Our Children Leave the Nest – Parenting Adult Children
I recently read an article about Bald Eagles. The most interesting part of the article was how they raise their young and how their young become independent. Baby eagles remain in the nest for about 12 weeks, with the parent eagles bringing them food. During this time, eaglets gain a pound every few days until…
Read MoreCodependency – When Is Enough Enough?
When we work with addiction we say that an addict won’t change until they “hit their bottom.” Waiting for this to happen can be maddening for their loved ones, especially painful for loved ones with codependency issues. As they watch the trouble that an addict creates for themselves and others, they think, “When is he/she…
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