Are you feeling so many emotions and not knowing what steps to take? Is the process going smoothly, or is it taking longer than expected? Maybe it did not go through, leaving you with adoption and/or foster care loss? Whether it’s positive or negative, we are here to help give you the support you need to move forward with healing. Deciding what is important to you is your first parenting decision and will shape your entire experience.
Adoption and Foster Care counseling is where a member or several members of the triad works with a licensed professional to discuss and heal from adoption-related or foster care issues. Not all individuals or other members of the triad will need or desire therapy, but for those who do, it can be beneficial.
Counseling is generally recommended for families seeking to foster or adopt a child. In counseling, a family can prepare for any issues that might arise and learn how to cope with a child’s particular or special needs, including any behavioral or health issues.
Counseling can be used to treat a wide variety of concerns related to adoption and foster care. Some ways therapy may help people cope with adoption or foster care include:
Some, though not all, children who have been adopted or in foster care may experience psychological, neurological, social, and behavioral problems unique to their individual situation. These potential problems which can develop at any age, may be:
Because of changes in adoption over the last few decades – changes that include open adoption, gay adoption, international adoptions and trans-racial (racial transformation) adoptions, and a focus on moving children out of the foster care system into adoptive families – adoption has had an large impact on the basic unit of society and the family.
Adoption research scholars have reported seven core issues to consistently be associated with the unnatural processes of adoption. Problems with loss, grief, rejection, guilt and shame, identity, intimacy, and control uniquely affect each member of the adoption triad. It is important to be mindful of the realities of adoptions as they permanently impact those involved.
Individuals who were in foster care experience higher rates of physical and psychiatric morbidity than the general population and suffer from not being able to trust and that can lead to placements breaking down. In the Casey study of foster children in Oregon and Washington state, they were found to have double the incidence of depression, 20% as compared to 10% and were found to have a higher rate of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than combat veterans with 25% of those studied having PTSD. Children in foster care have a higher probability of having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and deficits in executive functioning, anxiety as well as other developmental problems. These children experience higher degrees of incarceration, poverty, homelessness, and suicide.
It is healthy to ask for help. Please be gentle with yourself when it comes to change. Consulting a licensed professional who has experience in adoption and foster care issues can help you learn how to begin addressing issues relating to adoption and/or foster care. Getting support can prevent some adopted adult issues.
Our therapists, support and assist clients to connect with their authentic self and learn to love, not hate, themselves. Also, behaviors will be evaluated that are not currently working for them. We utilize multiple therapy modalities based on the client’s personality and problem. The therapy modalities are all research-based and are showing success based on the particular problems and the client.
Online therapy available in Texas, Utah, Florida, California and Louisiana
Our greatest desire at Therapy for Families is to help each individual feel comfortable and hopeful about their therapy process. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. We also offer a free consultation to help assess how therapy can benefit you and help you to feel peace and happiness again.