Policy Regarding Outside Literature at CoDA Meetings
This policy was approved by the 1990 Fourth International Service
Conference of Co-Dependents Anonymous and revised at the 2018 CoDA
Service Conference.
It is strongly suggested that CoDA groups use CoDA Conference Approved
and Board approved literature. However, if a group by informed group
conscience chooses to use outside literature, in order to be an
informed group conscience, that group must weigh their decision
against the Twelve Traditions to ascertain if a responsible decision
has been made. Some points to consider are:
- Tradition One: Using CoDA literature supports
the growth of CoDA and offers unity and continuity of message.
- Tradition Four: Will the decision reached by
the group affect neighboring groups or CoDA as a whole? What might
a newcomers’ first impression of CoDA be, based on the
literature chosen? What is a group’s responsibility to
newcomers?
- Tradition Five: Is the decision about
literature – or, for that matter, any decision made by the group
– in line with CoDA’s primary purpose?
- Tradition Six: Is the use of outside literature
an endorsement of a particular author? By making the work of a
particular author the focus of a meeting, is that a CoDA meeting
or a book study session?
- Tradition Eight: Use of outside literature may
border on therapy. CoDA is a self-help group and uses the Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions as a basis for recovery.
- Tradition Ten: Use of copyrighted materials not
owned by CoDA may lead to problems in the future and ought to be
considered in the decision making process. CoDA will not define
codependency, but will describe it. Does the use of outside
literature support a particular definition?
If, after considering the above points, a group chooses to use
outside literature, an announcement ought to be made at the beginning
and end of the reading of said literature.