FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION
“We need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”
“As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has or ever will have something inside that is unique to all time. It’s our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression.”
- Fred Rogers
Families come in all shapes and sizes and for many of us, may end up looking very different than we originally envisioned. While this can be the case for any of us, it's particularly true for those who have been touched by foster care and adoption. Whether you made the intentional decision to expand your family, found yourself suddenly in a situation where you were asked to care for a young person in your life, or were that child yourself who grew up in a different family then you were born into, the experience is one that leaves an indelible mark on your life.
There is a lot of joy, excitement, and fulfillment that can be discovered in the world of foster care and adoption. At the same time, there is also trauma, grief, pain, anger, uncertainty, resentment, and fear. Most people focus on those hopeful experiences but not holding space and acknowledging those very real and difficult moments is invalidating to the real life experiences of children and families navigating the sometimes (often) stormy waters. Though even as there are moments when you worry your boat may capsize, with the right support, resources, and commitment, the skies eventually clear and you find yourself more skilled and competent to weather the next.
I can help you along your foster care and adoption journey, whether you have just recently started considering the process for your family, have been living as a blended family for years, or are yourself an adult who is struggling to reconcile the role having been in foster care or being adopted has in your life now. As a C.A.S.E. certified Adoption Competent Therapist who has over a decade of experience working with families, I am skilled at providing a space where it is safe for you to begin shedding the mask of expectations you have likely felt you needed to wear. Together, we can then begin exploring how your experience has shaped your relationships, how you trust, what makes you feel safe, and who you understand yourself to be.