Adoption Therapy for Adults

Adult adoptees have issues that are unique, and may cast a long shadow on their lives. Traditional therapists typically wait for the client to bring up a subject before addressing it. Therapists who are unfamiliar with the specific challenges adoptees face might be unaware of the necessity of addressing these issues directly. Trauma therapists are trained to acknowledge and discuss the trauma first - which in the case of adoptees, is the adoption itself.

Attachment-focused therapy provides adult adoptees an opportunity to address and resolve issues such as:

• Insecurity and fear of abandonment in relationships, which is often based on the belief that, “If my birthmother didn’t love me, why would anyone else love me?”

• Experiencing imposter syndrome, or the belief that you are secretly incompetent, when it comes to fulfilling your responsibilities at school or at work

• Anxiety and depression born from the belief that you’re never going to be good enough

• The belief that you’re only going to be loved or wanted (or hired/employed) if you’re perfect in every way

• Unresolved grief and loss of birth mother/birth family

• Identity issues arising from transracial adoption

A therapist who specializes in adoption and attachment trauma will be able to understand and explore these adoptee-specific issues with compassion and attunement.