Post-Adoption Family Therapy may be the answer. You’ve been an adoptive parent for some time now and all the support you had in the beginning stages have faded away. Now more than ever, though, it feels really hard. You remember everything the adoption worker said. You read all the books and attended all the trainings but the challenges have grown now that your child is older.
Your adopted child continues to test your love and commitment with more and more risky behaviors. You worry they are trying to prove, once and for all, how truly “bad” they are and that you never really wanted them from the beginning. Your family continues to be torn apart by this adoption.
In your isolation, you may find yourself thinking, who is this stranger in my home? You may be questioning why you adopted at all. You no longer recognize yourself or your family. Your marriage is also taking a hit and you fear you may lose it all. Everything is still so hard with this kid in the family and secretly you wonder if you can just give them back, and that feels horrible!
It is Never Too Late:
Going it alone, even long after the adoption papers are signed, is not easy. I work with everyone in the family to learn new ways to calm down big feelings that cause all the fighting and yelling. With calmer minds, we then turn our attention to healing relationships and solving problems.
Our overall goal is to strengthen the bonds in the family by getting parents and kids talking and listening. Parents and kids are seen as members of the same team, working for the good of the entire family. Healthy connections are built through family traditions and culture. Parents learn to influence their children by letting go of control while still being in charge.
I can help you be that parent; you know, the one whose adopted kid actually comes and talk to them, especially when they are in trouble. It all begins with trust!
Contact Abby:
Contact Abby for a free, 20-minute phone consultation for post-adoption family therapy: (626)755-4059. It is never too late to bond with your child!
I provide online family therapy throughout California in response to the Covid-19 crisis and In-Home Family Therapy to folks in Arcadia, California and the surrounding areas, when safe to do so.