ABSTRACT
The aim of co-dependency is to resolve relational and identity-related problems in ways that accord with liberation psychotherapy's central premises. Recovery is principally a matter of learning and learning to live by the ethic of self-actualization. The "generation gap" that seems to underlie the rise of liberation psychotherapy is, at a more fundamental level, a moral and ethical gap separating those who subscribe to the ethic of self-denial and those adhering to the ethic of self-actualization. In light of this gap, and in light of co-dependency's fealty to the ethic of self-actualization, it is not surprising that a number of Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) members told stories that reveal the difficulties involved in bridging what is essentially an ethical divide. CoDA members' communal purposes center on, are organized around each person's pursuit of self-actualization. This is the essence of co-dependency's reformist impulses: The member's "home meetings" and "families of affiliation" are the mediating institutions of a liberation therapy reality.
