Adoption-Competent Training

For Foster and Adoptive Parents And Everyone Considering Adoption

Click on each workshop title to read the course description. Unless indicated, presentations require 2 hours. For information and to schedule a workshop, call Valerie Kunsman, MSW at 301-476-8525 or email caseadopt@adoptionsupport.org .

Adoption Through the Eyes of Children : A developmental prospective
Beneath the Mask : Adoption through the eyes of adolescents
Beyond Placement - Understanding the Developmental & Psychological Tasks of Adoptive Families
Facilitator Training for W.I.S.E. UP!
Healing Through Lifebooks
S.A.F.E. at School
Same Family, Different Stories : Siblings with Unique Adoption Experiences
Second Choice is Not Second Best: Making the Decision to Adopt
The Second Most Important Thing about Adoption : Importance of Birth Parents
Too Many Losses Too Soon : Loss and grief - foster and adopted children

ADOPTION THROUGH THE EYES OF CHILDREN: A developmental perspective. Find out what adopted children comprehend, think and feel about adoption as they develop from the pre-school years through adolescence. This workshop addresses common questions, fears, and concerns adopted children have regarding birth parents, adoptive parents and siblings, extended families and peers. Special emphasis is on the 7 core issues of adoption and on methods for treating ambiguous loss and grief and issues relating to self-esteem, self-value and identity. Also discussed is how non-adopted children perceive adoption and how feedback from peers and other adults can impact adoption adjustment.

BENEATH THE MASK: Adoption through the eyes of adolescents. Adoption influences and intensifies the normal tasks adolescents must accomplish (e.g. separation from parents, identity formation, decisions relating to sexuality, etc.) Struggling with this extra layer of challenges and reconciling their past and future identities can trigger mild and sometimes serious emotional/ behavioral issues both at home and school - particularly adopted teens who are raised by parents of a different race or culture. Debbie Riley facilitates a compelling training session, weaving in some of the teen-written excerpts included in her book, Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens . Clinical strategies can be included as part of this program. (1/2 or Full-day program recommended. (Special pre-order book rates also available.)

BEYOND PLACEMENT: Understanding the Developmental and Psychological Tasks of Adoptive Families. This workshop explores the vulnerability risk factors for adoptive parents and compares and contrasts the psychological tasks all parents must experiences with those tasks specific to being adoptive parents. Find out how loss (for both parents and children) can impact family relationships, and how issues of entitlement and claiming can strain one's parenting ability. The developmental tasks of the adopted child will be examined, as they are critical in assessing the family's risk for disruption or dissolution. Strategies for supporting parents will also be presented.

FACILITATOR TRAINING FOR W.I.S.E. UP: Empower children to respond to questions about adoption. Developed by C.A.S.E., W.I.S.E. UP! helps children and teens comfort7 February, 2008eers, extended family members and others have about adoption. Embraced by children for it's clarity and simplicity, W.I.S.E. up empowers children to decide when, whether and how to answer questions. Participants in this workshop will learn how to teach the program to children and/or parents and will gain certified permission to utilize C.A.S.E.'s W.I.S.E. Up! Powerbook to train families in their own community. (Highly interactive program.)

HEALING THROUGH LIFEBOOKS. A Lifebook is an invaluable tool that helps children document all of the abstract and concrete events along their journey to permanency - adoption. The seven top reasons for creating a Lifebook will be explored, including a therapeutic mechanism to assist the child in processing his/her feelings. Participants will be encouraged to become "investigators" and will find out how to begin tracking information. A diverse sampling of Lifebooks will be reviewed.

S.A.F.E. AT SCHOOL ^SM : Support for Adoptive Families by Educators. . Discover how to create a positive, adoption-sensitive environment to benefit adopted and non-adopted children. You'll learn how to weave informal, brief educational moments into already-existing programs and curricula and use five key strategies to open up and manage discussions about adoption in school. Tips for maximizing home-school collaboration are also included. s about adoption. Designed specifically for school personnel, this program can be adjusted to address specific concerns of your school and can be tailored for counselors and school psychologists needing to address the potential behavioral, emotional and learning issues that are rooted in adoption.

SAME FAMILY, DIFFERENT STORIES: Parenting Siblings with Unique Adoption Experiences. Adoptive parents often need to weave different adoption stories into one family. Sibling relationships can be challenged by these differences, (e.g. different amounts of birth story information, varying degrees of contact with birth family members, being adopted at different ages, etc.) A child may perceive his story as "better" or "worse" than his siblings and/or have very different feelings about having been adopted from his brothers or sisters. This workshop explores strategies for handling these differences as children grow and change. It also includes sibling and family issues of families formed by birth and by birth/adoption.

SECOND CHOICE IS NOT SECOND BEST: Making the Decision to Adopt. This workshop is for those considering adoption and professionals working with prospective adoptive parents. The focus is on helping participants understand the process of grief and loss when adoption is not the primary choice for family building. Participants will explore the important questions that must be addressed in order to determine if adoption is the appropriate option.

THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT ADOPTION: The Importance of Birth Parents in the Lives of Children. Examine how and why birth parents are critically important to adopted children and discover how adoptive parents' positive and negative attitudes about birth their children's parents directly affects the formation of self-concept and identity. Age-appropriate communication and information, coming to terms with difficult information and adopted children's interest in searching for information or reuniting with birth parents are also discussed.

TOO MANY LOSSES TOO SOON: Loss and grief among foster and adopted children. Learn about the unique losses experienced by children in foster care and adoption and about the critical factors that influence children's reaction to loss. This workshop addresses the 4 psychological tasks of grief work, explores effective healing therapies for children and teens and answers a variety of questions, including: How are children affected by loss? How can professionals help parents understand how and why children's in foster care and adopted children struggle with ambiguous loss? Are there signs that loss might trigger behaviors that can spiral out of control? Are there effective intervention methods for opening communication with children, strengthening transitions and promoting attachment to new families? (1/2 or Full-day program recommended) 

For information and to schedule a training session, call Valerie Kunsman at 301-476-8525 or email caseadopt@adoptionsupport.org .