About Counseling For Adults Who Are Adopted
When casually thinking about the idea of adoption, doesn’t it seem as though the image of babies comes to the forefront? Or young children? Adopted children grow up to be adults who can continue to struggle with acceptance – with themselves and with others. And as adopted adults become partners and spouses, new families are formed which can introduce additional acceptance-related difficulties.
Being adopted is not something that can be erased – it’s always with us. This is usually not a bad thing, it’s just a fact. At one time or another we were “given up,” even if it was for our own good. Depending on the circumstances of your adoption process, this makes it more of a challenge to allow ourselves to get too close, to trust, and to even see ourselves as part of a new family.
Adults who are adopted are especially attunted to grief and loss, as one of our earliest formative experiences was the loss of a birth mother, father, family, and sometimes country, culture and language, among other losses. Although in the adoption community we often prefer to focus on the gains of adoption, that loss of the first family comes first. Every story is different and complicated in its own way.
I’m Here to Help You
I can help with the creative possibility of healing and allow aliveness to emerge for you. Whatever your reason for beginning therapy around your adoption, my own experiences and training can help with a variety of areas including:
- Dealing with pervasive grief and unresolved loss
- Managing anxiety around loss and rejection
- Processing early loss and its effects on adulthood
- Understanding guilt and shame associated with adoption
- Understanding mastery and control and their role in adoption
- When adoptees become parents
- The complexities of search and reunion
- Identity challenges, especially within the closed adoption system
Susan Martin, MA, AMFT
Registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist #110172
Phone/Text: (916) 287-3695
Email: susanmartin@hope-counselingcenter.org
I am a California registered associate marriage and family therapist at HOPE Counseling Center under the supervision of licensed clinicians.
Hope's Folsom Office:
530 Plaza Drive, Suite 130
Folsom, CA 95630
Telehealth:
I meet with clients either in the office or, when appropriate, via telehealth using a HIPPA secure online video platform.
