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Adoption Issues: Counseling and Therapy
Adoption is a lifelong issue that affects every member of the adoption triangle. At Breakthrough, we have developed a special interest in the unique challenges of adoptive family living. We provide counseling and therapy to help people deal with adoption related issues.
Many current adoptions involve the placement of older children who have an early history of abuse and neglect. These early experiences may impact on children in various ways. There may be some impairment in their attachment relationship. They may be experiencing the consequences of trauma. They may be showing cognitive or developmental delays because of lack of appropriate stimulation. They may be dealing with feelings of grief due to loss. The impact of these experiences is expressed emotionally, behaviorally and psychologically.
Therapy for families with an older adopted child may include:
- Individual play therapy for the child.
- Parent counseling to support the parents while exploring strategies for helping the child deal with his or her emotions and behavior.
- Family therapy to assist in promoting the attachment relationship and a sense of belonging.
- Theraplay®, an active treatment approach based on the natural patterns of healthy interaction is ideally suited for developing positive attachment relationships.
- Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), a parent and child attachment therapy that helps children resolve, with the support of both parent and therapist, difficult feelings resulting from neglect and/or trauma in their birth home
In adolescence, adoption issues may surface for the first time, especially if the adolescent was adopted in infancy. Adolescence is a time of exploration, of defining one's identity. An adolescent adoptee may begin to have many thoughts and feelings about his/her birth family and the circumstances of the adoption. Sometimes this is shown in behavioural difficulties, emotional distress or relationship difficulties with the adoptive parents. Both individual and family therapy may be indicated as treatment options.
An adult adoptee may be considering, or involved in, a search for their birth parent. This can be an emotionally demanding and difficult process. A therapist may provide a neutral, supportive relationship as the search and reunion process is unfolding.
Birth mothers who placed a child for adoption many years ago may still be experiencing feelings of guilt, loss or confusion. They may be considering a search for their birth child. Therapy and counseling can be helpful in resolving their feelings, exploring whether to proceed with the search, and preparing for a possible reunion.
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