# Enabling > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Enabling > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Enabling.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling > Source revision: 1328049039 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Psychological intervention This article is about enabling in its counseling or psychological sense. For enabling in an empowerment sense, see [Empowerment](/source/Empowerment). For use of term in [Graphical user interfaces](/source/Graphical_user_interface), see [GUI widget](/source/GUI_widget). For other uses, see [Enabling (disambiguation)](/source/Enabling_(disambiguation)). This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) Some of this article's listed sources may not be reliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed. (June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article uses parenthetical referencing, which is deprecated on Wikipedia. Please help improve this article if you can. (September 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) In [psychotherapy](/source/Psychotherapy) and [mental health](/source/Mental_health), **enabling** is an action or deliberate lack of action that directly or indirectly encourages behaviors in others, especially if said behavior is [dysfunctional](/source/Dysfunctional_behavior).[1] ## Positive As a positive term, "enabling" describes [patterns of interaction](/source/Reinforcement) which allow individuals to develop and grow in a [healthy](/source/Mental_health) direction. These patterns may be on any scale, for example within the [family](/source/Family).[1] ## Negative In a negative sense, "enabling" can describe [dysfunctional behavior](/source/Abnormality_(behavior)) approaches that are intended to help resolve a specific problem but, in fact, may perpetuate or exacerbate the problem.[1][2] A common theme of enabling in this latter sense is that third parties take [responsibility](/source/Moral_responsibility) or [blame](/source/Blame), or make accommodations for a person's ineffective or harmful conduct (often with the best of intentions, or from fear or insecurity which inhibits action). The practical effect is that the person themselves does not have to do so, and is shielded from [awareness](/source/Self-awareness) of the harm it may do, and the need or pressure to change.[3] ### Codependency [Codependency](/source/Codependency) is a theory that attempts to explain imbalanced [relationships](/source/Interpersonal_relationship) in which one person enables another person's self-destructive behavior[4] such as [addiction](/source/Addiction), [substance abuse](/source/Substance_abuse), poor [mental health](/source/Mental_health), [immaturity](/source/Maturity_(psychological)), [irresponsibility](/source/Social_responsibility), or [under-achievement](/source/Underachiever).[5] Enabling may be observed in the relationship between a person with a substance use disorder and their partner, spouse or a parent. Enabling behaviors may include [making excuses](/source/Rationalization_(making_excuses)) that prevent others from holding the person accountable, or cleaning up messes that occur in the wake of their impaired judgment. Enabling may prevent psychological [growth](/source/Personal_development) in the person being enabled, and may contribute to negative symptoms in the enabler. Enabling may be driven by concern for retaliation, or fear of consequence to the person with the substance use disorder, such as job loss, injury or suicide.[6] A parent may allow an addicted adult child to live at home without contributing to the household such as by helping with chores, and be [manipulated](/source/Psychological_manipulation) by the child's excuses, emotional attacks, and threats of self-harm.[7] ### Abuse In the context of [abuse](/source/Abuse), enablers are distinct from flying monkeys (proxy abuse). Enablers simply allow (not specifically support) the abuser's own bad behavior while flying monkeys always support and perpetrate bad behavior to a third party on their behalf.[8] Padilla et al. (2007), in analyzing [destructive leadership](/source/Narcissistic_leadership), distinguished between conformers and colluders, in which the latter are those who actively participate in the destructive behavior.[9] [Emotional abuse](/source/Emotional_abuse) is a [brainwashing](/source/Brainwashing) method that over time can turn someone into an enabler. While the abuser often [plays the victim](/source/Victim_playing), it is quite common for the true victim to believe that he or she is responsible for the abuse and thus must adapt and adjust to it.[10] ## See also - [Personal boundaries](/source/Personal_boundaries) - [Sycophancy](/source/Sycophancy) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-elinewberger.com_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-elinewberger.com_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-elinewberger.com_1-2) [elinewberger.com](http://www.elinewberger.com/enabling.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080209121208/http://www.elinewberger.com/enabling.html) 2008-02-09 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) From the page on 'enabling', by Eli H. Newberger, M.D., referenced by that web page to *The Men They Will Become* ch.18 "Enabling". 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["The Role of Enabler: Are You Enabling Addiction In The One You Love?"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130718081215/http://addictionrecoverybasics.com/the-role-of-enabler-are-you-enabling-addiction-in-the-one-you-love/). Archived from [the original](http://addictionrecoverybasics.com/the-role-of-enabler-are-you-enabling-addiction-in-the-one-you-love/) on 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2013-07-05. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Robert L. DuPont (2000-02-17), [*The selfish brain*](https://books.google.com/books?id=n7KY6aO7ZXsC), Hazelden, p. 15, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-56838-363-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-56838-363-7) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** McGrath, Michael; [Oakley, Barbara](/source/Barbara_Oakley) (2012). Oakley, Barbara; Knafo, Ariel; Madhavan, Guruprasad; Wilson, David Sloan (eds.). *Codependency and Pathological Altruism*. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 49. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780199876341](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780199876341). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-BPDFamily_5-0)** Johnson, R. Skip (13 July 2014). ["Codependency and Codependent Relationships"](http://bpdfamily.com/content/codependency-codependent-relationships). [BPDFamily.com](/source/BPDFamily.com). Retrieved 9 September 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Are You an Enabler? - Psych Central"](http://psychcentral.com/lib/are-you-an-enabler/00015255). 17 May 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Loved Ones of Addicts May Also Need Help Saying No"](http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/candace-plattor/enabling-addicts_b_6954214.html). 29 March 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Ziehl N [Coping with narcissistic personality disorder in the White House](https://qz.com/852187/coping-with-chaos-in-the-white-house) *[Quartz](/source/Quartz_(publication))* 06 Dec 2016 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Padilla, A, Hogan, R & Kaiser, RB 2007, *[The toxic triangle: Destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984307000367?via%3Dihub#bib71)*, in *The Leadership Quarterly*, vol. 18, pp. 176–194 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Joan Lachkar, How to Talk to a Narcissist (2008). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0415958554](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0415958554) Authority control databases National United States Israel Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Enabling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.