Applying the Analytical Framework

Co-Dependency as a Cultural Product: A Discourse

Context	Societal, Cultural, Historical: The Baby Boom & the Counter-Culture Affluence (for many; not all) & Education Extremely high expectations for society 1960s – 1970s: rejecting conventional social institutions (not measuring up to cultural value Civil Rights & Anti-War movements By late 70s – early 80s, public & political à private & therapeutic The Triumph of the Therapeutic (Philip Rieff) Pyschotherapeutic discourse & the therapeutic revolution From ethic of self-denial to ethic of self-actualization Assumptions about human nature, culture/society, & the right relationship between self and society Liberation psychotherapy (4 core assumptions) Human nature is intrisically good (positive, constructive) Repression of self is the cause of all psychological sickness Psychological sickness, in the aggregate, is the cause of societal problems Therefore, to be well, the self must be free from external (cultural & societal) control Transforming social institutions to align with new values Culture ßà Social Structure Marriage/Family; Religion; Education
	Institutional/Organizational: The Addiction Treatment Industry Legislation legitimated the disease model of alcoholism Created the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Insurance coverage offered for treatment Hundreds of treatment facilities nationwide The 12-step subculture Alcoholics Anonymous Support groups for Families (Al-Anon; Ala-Teen) Dozens of other Anonymous groups formed Recovery Bookstores
	Action Strategies: Disseminate information via as many public venues as possible Adopt & implement rhetorical styles for discourse that call for public outrage and urgency (see “Content”)
Process	Production: TV: Oprah, Phil, Geraldo, Sally Jessie, etc. & PBS (Bradshaw) Books (and book sales in the multi-millions), meetings/groups
	Selection: The advocates had selected the themes and images with which to construct the product The public (& the media) had selected the discourse, each for their own purposes
	Institutionalization: It had begun to take on organizational & institutional form (by late 1980s—early 1990s) Co-Dependents Anonymous Groups Those identifying themselves as co-dependents
Content	Social Horizon: Depiction of societal and cultural conditions Repressive “mainstream” society/culture “Poisonous pedagogy” (Bradshaw) · “Shaming” child-rearing rules · “Abandonment” and “abuse” of children These are normative socialization practices, the advocates contend Depiction & empirical conditions (see, “Context,” above) do not match But depiction does articulate with liberation therapy’s core assumptions
	Discursive Field: Binary opposition: what “is” (repressive mainstream culture) and “what should be” The child as symbol The “inner (divine) child” vs. mainstream culture’s “toxicity” The normal vs. the deviant Good vs. bad Self-actualization vs. Self-denial
	Figural Actions: Adherents must “get into recovery” Convert, join a group, re-conceptualize identity “Detachment” “Have a love affair with yourself”

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