Codependency: Identifying & addressing an underlying, untreated addiction in our clients

CPD courses & hours for psychologists in Australia

In Australia, discover how to identify and treat codependency as an underlying behavioural addiction. Online CPD courses for psychologists.

About this course in Australia

For Australian psychologists and counsellors, this focused course offers a research-informed framework for recognising codependency, which can masquerade as anxiety, depression or relationship problems. It defines codependency as a behavioural addiction and distinguishes it from other mental health concerns, then explores its developmental and relational roots. Practitioners gain targeted strategies to support recovery and manage the challenges and countertransference that can arise with these clients. Sections run from where codependency comes from to how to recover from it. The course is approved by the Australian Counselling Association for CPD hours.

Codependency is a frequently overlooked but clinically significant issue that can masquerade as anxiety, depression, or relational dysfunction. Often misunderstood or minimised in psychological practice, codependency is increasingly recognised as a behavioural addiction that requires specific intervention strategies—distinct from those used in classic talk therapy.

This focused CPD session provides psychologists and allied health professionals with a practical, research-informed framework for recognising and addressing codependency. It outlines diagnostic markers, explores the developmental origins of codependent behaviours, and offers practical tools for managing therapeutic challenges when working with these clients.

Sections

• What is codependency?
• Where does it come from?
• The characteristics of codependency
• How to recover from codependency
• How to handle codependent clients

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this talk, participants will be able to:

• Define codependency as a behavioural addiction and distinguish it from other mental health concerns.

• Identify common characteristics and diagnostic features of codependent presentations.

• Understand the developmental and relational roots of codependency.

• Apply targeted strategies to support recovery from codependency.

• Navigate therapeutic challenges and countertransference when working with codependent clients.

 

Deepening Change in Imago Relationship Therapy
Structure as a Pathway to Connection: The Imago Dialogue as Relational Practice
Working with Death, Illness and Loss
Relational Ethics: Beyond Autonomy
Having a relationship with a narcissist: How to help your clients become aware, protect themselves, and recover
Curatorship, Administratorship & Capacity: Ethical and Legal Considerations in South African Practice
Navigating Food Fights & Family Feuds: A Guide for Families Supporting Eating Disorder Recovery
Safety, Connection and the Autonomic Nervous System: Attachment Theory and Polyvagal Theory
Understanding ADHD Through an Executive Functioning Lens