Therapy for adoptive parents

Adoption is complex. Joy, pain, loss, and love all occurring at the same time. Adoptive parents, biological parents, and children are all profoundly impacted by their experience with adoption. I have worked with many adoptive, birth, and foster families and enjoy supporting them through the process. At times, many adoptive or foster parents feel lost, their child may be experiencing things that they did not expect, or attempts to support them seem to be falling short. Working with an adoption and trauma competent therapist can help parents navigate the emotional and behavioral dysregulation that their children experience. I use a trauma informed lens and attachment theory to help parents develop the skills and understanding they need to support their adoptive or foster child.

Adoptive Parenting

Parenting as an adoptive parent is a unique experience. Many of the adoptive parents I work with speak of how lonely it can feel. Your friends and family members with children don’t have the same experience with or journey to parenthood that you do. Adoptive parents need support, and often times they need the education and training to understand how to implement trauma informed practices into parenting their children, because parenting in the “typical” way that their peers do falls short. I have spent a lot of time working with adoptive families, foster families, and biological families in my therapy practice and in research.

I aim to make sure that the adoptive parents that work with me do not feel alone. Many of my clients have experienced traumas and stressors related to their experience as adoptive parents. For so many adoptive parents their day to day experience is focused on making sure their children get the help and support that they need and they often put their own needs on the back burner. I’m hear to listen to your story, to support you as a parent, and to help you develop the tools you need to help your kids grow up to be happy, healthy, and feel loved, no matter how your family started.