In the addiction world, support and therapy for a loving spouse (or parent) typically involves judgmental head-shaking, tut-tuts, and expressions of concern about the caretaker’s problem, with that problem being identified as dysfunctional attempts to love, save, rescue, and heal the addict and the family. In other words, caretakers are labeled as codependent and advised to “detach with love” as a way of caring for themselves. In this article Rob Weiss suggests that it’s time to change this. We need to stop pathologizing and start celebrating our caregivers.
