The Psychology of Adoption

Catalog description

Adoption is a family building event that has a lifelong impact on each member of the adoption constellation: birth family, adoptive family and adoptee. There are distinct developmental, neurobiological, psychological and social/cultural/environmental implications for this population that mental health clinicians will face at social service agencies, community clinics and in private practice settings. Few graduate level clinical psychology programs include modules on diagnosis and treatment of this group, while child and adolescent adoptees are recipients of mental health services at a significantly higher percentage than the general population. The intention of this one-day class is to contextualize psychological approaches through an adoption lens; to increase students’ skills to accurately assess clinical issues that adoptees and their families may face; and learn appropriate therapeutic interventions to meet those needs from a strength-based, culturally competent framework.