I have been adopted my whole life. It has always been an essential part of my identity. I have also been a dedicated social worker for over 30 years.

 

But it wasn't until I began my private practice in 2011 that these two identities intersected in a passionate & meaningful way. Here's how...

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Many of the adolescents worked with were not only presenting with similar struggles but they also happened to be adopted. I became curious about the connection between mental health and adoption. I found myself frustrated with the lack of information and understanding about adoption in the mental health community and the overrepresentation of adoptees in psychiatric settings. An adoptee myself, I leaned into this area of practice. I read everything I could on the subject. I began sharing my adoptee status in my clinical work and advocating widely for the needs of adopted children and teens.

Despite years of experience working with adolescent adoptees, it wasn't until later in adulthood, like so many other adoptees, that I emerged from "the adoption fog". Personal circumstances led me to read a memoir titled "You Don't Look Adopted" by fellow adoptee Anne Heffron    . It was through reading someone else's personal experience that my own adoption began to really make sense to me. It took the raw voice & narrative expertise of an adoptee to fully unlock my own awareness. It was a process: painful & disorienting; liberating & illuminating. I learned that this was a common phenomenon for adult adoptees, widely discussed in adoptee communities, but little understood by mental health providers. I wanted to change that! In 2024, I completed a Doctorate in Social Work  (DSW) to amplify adoptee voices in academic research, clinical theory, and professional practice.