What is Sponsorship?
When we are ready and have worked some of our steps, we may feel ready to help sponsor other members recovering alongside us through the Twelve Step recovery process. We share our experience, strength and hope with our sponsee, and work with them between meetings, providing a listening ear on the phone if they’re struggling or hearing them share writing they have done on the steps and traditions.
The recovery goal in CoDA sponsorship is to have a mutually beneficial relationship, with both partners gaining from the arrangement. Working the steps, changing our behaviour, and growing spiritually frees us from advising, controlling, and rescuing.
A sponsor-sponsee relationship is not the only way to work the steps. CoDA members have made use of a variety of different methods to work the steps and grow in recovery.
In recent months a number of member networks have been set up to share experience, strength and hope around working the steps in a workgroup, offering a channel to arrange CoDA outreach calls, and offer support to members new to sponsorship. Head over to member networks to find out more.
Common Ways to Work the Steps
Sponsor-Sponsee
Co-Sponsorship
Steps/Sponsorship Group – (Member Network / CoDA Meetings)
Individual Progression
Getting Started
Working Steps 1, 2, 3
CoDA has produced a new thirty question tool to aid newcomers to begin working steps 1, 2, and 3.
Thirty Questions – Getting Started working the steps as easy as 123
Sponsorship resources from coda.org
- Coda.org – Sponsorship
- Coda.org – Sponsorship in Coda
- Coda.org – Resources for Sponsors
- Coda.org – Working the Steps in a Group (inc sample script)
Coda Fellowship Forum Audio Recording
Coda – Fellowship Forum – Audio Recordings
Sponsorship
11th Feb 2023 – Joy in the Journey – encouraging Sponsors & Sponsees
Sponsored by – World CoDA Outreach Committee Saturday, February 11, 2023: 4pm-7:30pm (GMT) The workshop is sponsored by the World CoDA Outreach Committee and will provide information and encouragement for sponsors and sponsees. Step TwelveHaving had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other codependents, and…
22nd Jan 2023- CoDA ONLINE Sponsorship Workshop
Working the Steps in CoDA: exploring different sponsorship approaches. CoDA UK Sponsorship Committee will host a Zoom Sponsorship workshop Sunday 22nd January 2023, 4-6pm UK time (8-10am Pacific time) (doors open half an hour before) This workshop will have shares on being a sponsor, sponsee and co-sponsoring. It is an introduction to the various ways…
Fellowship Meeting – Safeguarding Policy *updated*
Updates made – November 2022 – by NSC & Sponsorship committees – indicated with asterix BackgroundThe Disclosure and Barring Service and Scottish Government have confirmed that fellowship members do not require DBS or Disclosure Scotland check for 12th Stepping or Sponsorship, as they are members of self-regulating groups. As individuals, however, fellowship members should be…
Sponsorship Ideas
We are looking for CoDA groups/individuals to provide ideas/feedback on what has worked for them which we can share (anonymously) at our Sponsorship Workshop in London or via our Zoom Workshop. We would also welcome suggestions on how we can move sponsorship forward in the UK. Is there something you would like us to try?…
Sponsorship Shout Out
If you are a sponsor looking for sponsees, then we would appreciate it if you could contact sponsorship@codauk.org. There are always lots of sponsees looking for sponsors and we can put you in touch with each other.
Sharing ESH
Group Sponsorship
Sharing the Experience, Strength and Hope I’ve Found in a CoDA Step Work Group My name is Kay and I’m a recovering co-dependent. I have been in the fellowship for just under three years. I joined the fellowship following a bad break-up which left me broken spiritually, untrusting of my own judgement and merits and…
Co-Sponsorship
Sponsorship Workshop – Birmingham – April 2007 The speaker described how she had been in CoDA for around 3-4 years, following sponsoring in another 12 step fellowship. There was a lack of available sponsors, and the co-sponsoring relationship was set up in the light of this. She described the ‘mechanics’ of the relationship, which has…