Adoption Support Group

Often adoptive parents and children are told that they are a family like any other and the ways in which their experience is different from biologically formed families is not understood. In my adoption support groups parents report finding great comfort discussing issues relevant to their children’s adoptions in a safe place where others understand and share similar experiences. Typical issues and questions include:

• How to discuss adoption with your child
• How to talk to other parents and relatives about adoption
• How to speak with teachers about your child’s adoption
• Managing issues that arise at school for adopted children
• How to obtain services for children who are suffering from trauma in orphanages 
• Attachment difficulties for children adopted at an older age
• How to recognize and respond to the adopted child’s feelings of loss and rejection
• How to manage your own feelings when your child has difficulties
• Questions regarding how to best discipline adopted children, particularly those suffering from trauma​
• Managing difference within the family, especially in transracial and transnational adoptions
  

Our adoption support group meets monthly and discusses pertinent issues that are affecting adoptive parents. This group is tailored to the needs of parents and all members are able to learn from each others experiences.