Developing coping strategies based on an assessment of the difficulties of interacting with codependents

Context and relevance. Codependency is one of the factors influencing the development of addiction, and the difficulties of involving codependent relatives in the recovery process become a significant obstacle to changing the situation. The study examines the problem of difficulties in the interaction of specialists with codependents and is aimed at finding ways to develop coping strategies to overcome these difficulties. Objective: the study of the peculiarities of specialists' perception and assessment of difficulties in interacting with codependents and coping resources, and the development of coping strategies to overcome the difficulties studied. Hypothesis. The peculiarities of specialists' perception of the difficulties of interacting with codependents and coping resources make it possible to identify strategies aimed at coping with certain difficulties. Methods and materials. 45 practicing psychologists participated in the study. Subjective assessment of difficult life situations, a system of ideas about the difficulties of interacting with codependents and coping resources were studied using a battery of questionnaires (COPE, “Cognitive assessment of a difficult life situation”, “Types of orientation in a difficult situation (TOrTS)”) and the method of multidimensional scaling. Results. Significant correlations between the characteristics of difficult situations, coping, resources and scales of standardized techniques have been obtained, semantic spaces for assessing difficulties and coping resources have been compiled. Based on the data obtained, coping strategies have been developed, classified into three groups (focused on interaction processes, on the capabilities of a specialist and on the capabilities of codependents) and an algorithm for developing coping strategies has been proposed. Conclusions. The paper presents a holistic, systematic approach to the development of coping strategies to overcome the difficulties of interacting with codependents and shows the wide possibilities for further research in this area.

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