The word codependency has become so familiar within the alcohol and drug field that we rarely stop to ask where it came from. There is also an interesting difference in how the word tends to be used. In the UK, codependency is often used fairly loosely to describe an unhealthy alliance between two people in which one person's behaviour protects, facilitates or accommodates the behaviour of another. A partner pays the debts, rings the employer, conceals the drinking or repeat