As people who are adopted move through life, questions about identity, relationships and family can emerge in new ways. Learn how adoption-competent therapy can help adult adoptees navigate it all.
Adoption is often talked about as something that happens in childhood, but its impact continues throughout a person’s life. Whether adoption happened early in life or in adulthood, adoption-competent therapy can help adult adoptees, and offers space to explore those experiences with someone who understands how adoption can shape development, identity and emotional wellbeing into adulthood. Below are six reasons adult adoptees should consider speaking with an adoption-competent therapist.
1. It can help normalize your experiences.
Many adults who were adopted move through life without having many opportunities to talk about how adoption may have shaped their experiences. However, early relationships and life circumstances can continue to influence how people understand themselves and connect with others — whether they are adopted or not.
Like anyone else, some people seek therapy with a specific concern, such as anxiety, relationship struggles or a major life transition. Sometimes, adoptees may not realize that what is weighing on them may be influenced by their adoption experience. Adoption-competent therapy offers the same support patients would expect from any good therapy experience, while also helping place experiences in the broader context of adoption.
2. It supports identity development in young adulthood.
Young adulthood is a time when many people begin making independent choices about education, careers, relationships and values. For individuals who are adopted, these years can also bring new questions about identity and belonging. This stage of life is a period focused on forming a stable sense of self. During this time, people may be making major commitments and defining who they are apart from their families of origin.
For some young adult adoptees, this period also involves separating from family in new ways. from home may be the first time they are in environments where no one knows their adoption story unless they choose to share it. Adoption-competent therapy can help young adults explore what adoption means for their identity, values and sense of self as they move into greater independence.
3. It can help you navigate race, identity and community.
For people adopted across racial, national or cultural lines, questions about race and belonging can become especially important in adolescence and adulthood.
Adults who are adopted transracially may find themselves exploring connections to their racial or cultural communities in new ways. Some individuals begin to examine experiences they had growing up, while others seek spaces where they can more fully explore parts of their identity they never have before. For individuals adopted internationally, adulthood can also bring new realizations about immigration, nationality and cultural identity.
Adoption-competent therapists can help individuals explore these experiences thoughtfully while supporting the development of a strong and integrated sense of identity.
4. It creates space to process your adoption story.
Many adults adoptees realize later in life that they have never had the opportunity to fully reflect on their own adoption story. Adoption narratives are often centered on the perspectives of adults making decisions for a child. Therapy can help people step back and consider their own experiences, feelings and questions about what happened in their early life.
This may include exploring unanswered questions, memories or forms of loss that may not have been acknowledged as loss before. Having a supportive space to reflect on these experiences can help people develop a deeper understanding of their own story.
5. It helps you think through search and reunion.
Some adopted adults feel curious about their birth family or wonder whether they would like to pursue a search or reunion. Others may already be in contact with birth relatives and are navigating what those relationships look like. Both situations can bring complex emotions: excitement, hope, uncertainty and grief, all existing at the same time.
Adoption-competent therapists can help individuals think through their hopes and expectations, prepare for possible outcomes and process experiences as they unfold. Therapy can also support people who choose not to pursue a search but still have questions about their origins.
6. It helps you think about family across your lifespan.
Adoption continues to shape family relationships throughout adulthood. As people who are adopted grow older, they may find themselves navigating relationships with and supporting both adoptive parents and birth relatives, sometimes while also building families of their own.
For individuals who become parents, having children can bring new reflections on their own early experiences. Some people notice that they see their younger selves differently or feel a renewed curiosity about their birth family and history. Adoption-competent therapy can help individuals think about what family means for them in the long run.
How to Get Support
The Cradle is here to serve anyone touched by adoption, whether the adoption was through The Cradle or not, and however the placement was made: through agencies, attorneys, foster care or kinship. We offer in-person and telehealth sessions. Click here to inquire about counseling.
