Because codependency is not actually considered a diagnosable disorder as outlined in the diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, you will not frequently see individuals for this reason alone. Many times counselors will encounter those with codependency when working with spouses of substance abuse, women in domestically violent relationships or women who self-label. Additionally, the criteria for being codependent is frequently changing and becoming broader to include many types of women. One way to help those coming to you with codependency is to first, not label them with codependency. Often times this label is perpetuated without consideration of the socio-political or environmental factors taken into account. As mentioned earlier it may not be a flaw of the women presenting with codependent behaviors, but a flaw on society for labeling those behaviors as negative.
Another way to look at codependency is from the self-in-relation theoretical perspective. This turns the tables and looks at codependency as a positive coping technique and strength than as negative and pathological traits. In many cases this can lead to the disintegration of the necessity of the label and can provide empowerment to women. One of the main forms of treatment that was discussed was to offer empowerment to women and encourage an overall societal change of how women are labelled. In many cases some believe that wit ha societal change codependency will no longer exist, especially as such a broad catchall. While most perspectives seemed to highlight a feminist approach to counseling, it seems that many counseling techniques could be used to help women faced with this label. What seems most important is the ability to understand codependency, the good, the bad, and the ugly and work with individuals to meet their needs, not the needs of society.
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