Therapy

Adopted children face situations, issues and questions that birth children do not have to face.  By understanding these issues, instead of avoiding them, you can help your child to live a more normal and happy life.

Whether a child was placed for adoption form birth, was in an orphanage or in foster care and no matter how careful you were to explain adoption in positive terms, your adopted child commonly faces some emotional and developmental issues that an not common in a non-adopted child. As a result post-adoption therapeutic services are frequently needed, although often not until years after the adoption has taken place.

Most adoptees, at some time in their life, experience issues with loss, grief and anger as well as trust, attachment and identity.  Certain dates and experiences, like birthdays, the birth of siblings into the family, anniversaries, etc. may trigger adoption related problems. School problems can arise around classroom assignments, interactions with friends, and lack of sensitivity on the part of school personnel and other adults.  For a further understanding of these issues, please visit the link the emotional impact of adoption on the website AdoptionServices.org. To help deal with these type of problems post-adoption services typically include the following:

*Individual and group therapy and counseling
*Adoption support groups
*Education through adoption conferences, books and magazines
*Overnight camps and retreats
*Inpatient care at a hospital or residential treatment center

Timely help from a skilled counselor or therapist can often prevent an initial problem from becoming more serious. It can also help you understand what problems are the result of everyday life and what problems may be related specifically to adoption issues.

For some help in selecting an adoption counselor, please view the link Therapist Selection.  Another place to start is the adoption agency or adoption attorney that helped with the adoption.  You amy also want to contact other adoption agencies in area to see if they know of local resources. 

Additional resources can be found through state and local adoption support groups,  the state child welfare agency, local mental health center or the state Department of Education. You can also contact one of several state associations including your state Psychological Association or Psychiatric Association, or Association of Social Workers to get the names of an adoption specialist.

As relates to finding an individual therapist, adoptive families emphasize the importance of finding a therapist with adoption experience. For additional help with adoption therapy, please contact Dr. Vince Berger, a PhD Psychologist and adoption specialist with over 40 years of experience, and visit the website Psychologist Anywhere Anytime.