Session 1 – Fireside Room
Debbie W.
Bio: Debbie W. (Sacramento) has been a CoDA member since 1988. She has learned that service work is the “diamond lane of recovery.” She sponsors others and is currently Delegate to CoDA World representing NorCal CoDA. She has also served as past Treasurer & Chairperson for NorCal CoDA and SACI (GSACC). She is an example that by being of service and working our CoDA program one day at a time, we can all indeed be happy, joyous, and free!
Workshop: HEALTHY WANTS AND NEEDS WORKSHOP
What are your wants? What are your needs? How do you react when it appears that your wants or needs are not going to be met? What are your expectations? How can getting your needs met support you in developing healthy and loving relationships?
We all have wants and needs. Let’s define these. What does it look like to get our needs met in a healthy way? In this workshop we will explore ideas on how to use recovery tools to nurture ourselves in our lives today.
Session 1/Room 2
Tom O
Bio: I have been a part of the fellowship and attended meetings for over three decades and now more than ever I feel I’m really getting the hang of it.
Workshop: Really Working It
Hit an impasse in recovery? Perhaps feeling stuck? Been working it but it doesn’t seem to be working? This is exactly where I was but I got the guidance I needed from a power greater than myself. And now it’s better than ever. Anyone who can relate, I’ll share my experience strength and hope and I want to hear whatever it is you have to share. Newcomers are welcome! This could be helpful especially if you’re curious.
Session 1/Room 3
Betty K.
Bio: I came to CoDA in October 2018 when my life was in total turmoil, abuse was running rampant, and I was accepting it as possibly my own fault. When I first read the 80 traits of codependence, I was shocked at how accurately they were describing my life. How did they know all these things about me? After two to three meetings a week for five years, I have learned I can only control how I react to the situations as they are present to me.
Workshop: In This Moment, Daily Meditation and Group Shares.
We will gather and read from the daily meditation book from coda.org. You can bring your own copy or I will have several copies to pass around & share or purchase for $12 each.
Session 2/Fireside Room
Michelle M.
Bio: Michelle is celebrating her 7th year in CoDA by sharing the Working The Program document and the CoDA’s 12 Tools. As these along with recovery sisters and brothers have changed her life! She believes in giving back what she has been freely given and then some. Sponsorship, service, and speaking are a few ways she chooses to contribute. She collects ways to work her program and to sponsor. Integrating tools and developing some of her own to share with others along the way!
Workshop: Working the Program (WTP) – 12 Tools of CoDA
In this workshop, we’ll explore the Working the Program document which provides a deeper understanding of the 12 Tools of CoDA found in the Daily Program Journal. Offering a suggested format for a 12 week temporary sponsorship or co-sponsorship, the WTP is a great segue into sponsorship while covering the foundational tools! In addition, Michelle shares some of her own techniques used to work her program through both inner child work and healing with creativity.
Session 2/Room 2
Elizabeth M.
Bio: She has been in CoDA in Sacramento for 6+ years. She does service work in her home group, Sacramento Area CoDA Intergroup (SACI), and NorCal CoDA. Elizabeth has done presentations at Sacramento area quarterly conferences and online during pandemic. Her recovery focuses on Step work, sponsorship and inner child and re-parenting.
Workshop: Working the Steps: An Inner-Child Re-parenting Approach
This workshop will cover information from the CoDA big book and the new book, Growing Up in CoDA. We will have some activities centered around connecting with your inner children as well as re-parenting exercises.
Session 2/Room 3
Najee
Bio: I am a healer in training. I have been walking this journey for about 3 years and have been in CoDA for 5. One thing I learned in CoDA is the use of tools. Outside of going to meetings, tools such as the phone list, meditation, and journaling have always helped me grow as a person. I joined CoDA right before Covid hit and I was able to find a sponsor at this very conference. Since the world was shut down, I had ample time to dive into my own personal growth and I thank my Higher Power for putting me in that position and allowing me to do the work. All of these years later I recognize growth is not linear and requires a consistent effort from myself to maintain the sanity that I require to thrive not survive.
Workshop: A Place of Serenity
This workshop is intended to bring you serenity and connect to a younger piece of yourself. Sometimes all we need is be heard. The older we get the easier it is to forget about the needs of our inner child, teenager or a past version of ourselves that may have experienced trauma. Maybe all they want to do is to go to the beach or hang out with loved ones; it doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s about finding the middle ground of what they are asking for and what you can provide. Together we will find a place of serenity that you can revisit anytime you need peace.
Session 3/Fireside Room
Running rampant, and I was accepting it as possibly my own fault. When I first read the 80 traits of codependence, I was shocked at how accurately they were describing my life. How did they know all these things about me? After two to three meetings a week for five years, I have learned I can only control how I react to the situations as they present to me.
Betty K. Workshop Topic: In This Moment, a Daily Meditation and group shares. Let’s gather and read from the daily meditation book from coda.org. You can bring your own copy, and I also I have several copies to pass around & share
Chase C.
Bio: I have a CoDA Birthday of 7 years (10/28/17) and an online Home Meeting, “The Beautifully CoDependent Group” held Tuesdays at noon. It is a welcoming and all-inclusive, gender-neutral meeting who, to the best of their ability, is willing to be guided by the principles of the Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions of CoDA assuring its future. I sponsor and I am a sponsor to other codependents. I am committed to my Home Meeting and have a voice shared with others in making informed group decisions by the Group Conscience process.
Workshop: Steps 2 & 3: The Key to Making a Healthy Decision-
At the Fall CoDA Mini-Conference (2024), the Workshop, “Unlocking Your Past: The Keys to Re-parenting” was a workshop that opened the door to personal histories, illuminated ways to reshape the inner stories that influence the present. After completing Step One, I found a new set of beliefs is key to set aside old belief systems formulated from our personal histories. Expect group exercises, and group sharing. Participants will be encouraged to connect deeply, approaching past experiences with a newfound understanding and gentle curiosity. By the end of the workshop, the key to making healthy decisions with the guiding principles of the Twelve Steps may nurture a foundation in recovery from codependency and unlock a path toward a new freedom.
Betty K. Biography: I came to CoDA in October 2018 when my life was in total turmoil, abuse was running rampant, and I was accepting it as possibly my own fault. When I first read the 80 traits of codependence, I was shocked at how accurately they were describing my life. How did they know all these things about me? After two to three meetings a week for five years, I have learned I can only control how I react to the situations as they present to me.
Betty K. Workshop Topic: In This Moment, a Daily Meditation and group shares. Let’s gather and read from the daily meditation book from coda.org. You can bring your own copy, and I also I have several copies to pass around & share
Session 3/Room 2
Elizabeth M.
Bio: She has been in CoDA in Sacramento for 6+ years. She does service work in her home group, SACI, and NorCal CoDA. Elizabeth has done presentations at the Sacramento area quarterly conference and online during pandemic. Her recovery focuses on Step work, sponsorship and inner child and re-parenting.
Workshop: Sponsorship
In this workshop, we will brainstorm questions/issues facing current sponsors, prospective sponsors, and sponsees. The information gathered will help the Nor-Cal and SACI sponsorship chairperson (me) to further develop a virtual workshop intended to increase sponsorship in CoDA.
Session 3/Room 3
Ronit
Bio: (she/her) With ten years in recovery, Ronit is beyond grateful for all the ways CoDA has helped her come home to herself and show up more authentically in relationships with others. As a queer, cis-woman, she advocates passionately for LGBTQ+ inclusion in every community and is excited to hold this space to honor other non-binary, trans, and queer folks on this healing journey.
Workshop: Holding Queer Spaces in Healing Communities
Many of us with marginalized identities have concerns about what it means to be safe and visible as we heal in a community with others right now. This workshop is intended to help us deepen our understanding of how our sexual and gender identities intersect with codependence and recovery, and how our recovery can empower us to embrace and stand in all of who we are.
Discussion will center trans/non-binary and queer experiences so that we can explore who we are within CoDA, and how our recovery communities can continue to grow safer and more inclusive for LGTBQ+ members who have a desire for healthy and loving relationships. Folks who are questioning or unsure of their identities are absolutely welcome – labels and coming out are certainly supported but in no way required for participation.
A note on safety: cis-het (straight/non-trans) allies who wish to learn more about fostering inclusive recovery spaces, are invited to join as respectful observers. To ensure this remains a protected, queer/trans/nb-centered space, please understand that this workshop will not offer opportunities to explore non-LGBTQ+ peoples’ experiences and feelings around the sexual and gender diversity of others.