The 12 Steps to Self-Parenting for Adult Children

Patricia O'Gorman, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice in East Chatham and Albany, New York, is noted for her work in trauma, families, children of alcoholics, child welfare, mental health, and substance abuse. She was one of the first researchers on children of alcoholics in the early 1970s, documenting the impact of alcoholism and sobriety on adolescent development, and went on to create the Department of Prevention and Education for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD). She has served as an international consultant to organizations in preventive and clinical strategic planning. Dr. O'Gorman is a cofounder of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, and she has held positions that include clinical director of a child welfare agency, executive director of an agency serving survivors of crime and abuse, and director of prevention for NIAAA. She is a veteran of numerous television appearances, including Good Morning America, Today, and AM Sunday. She is the author of Dancing Backwards in High Heels: How Women Master the Art of Resilience, coauthor (with Phil Diaz) of The Lowdown on Families Who Get High, 12 Steps to Self-Parenting for Adult Children, 12 Steps to Self-Parenting Workbook, and Breaking the Cycle of Addiction, and coauthor (with Peter Finn) of Teaching About Alcohol, as well as numerous articles in magazines including Addiction Today, Counselor, and Recovery. She brings the same type of seminal thinking to the topic of trauma and codependency that she used to help create the Children of Alcoholics movement.