About this session

Adoptive families are 2 to 5 times more likely to utilize outpatient mental health services than their non-adopted peers and 4 to 7 times more likely to place their children in residential treatment centers. While 10% of U.S. children over age 5 in the general population receive mental health services, 33% to 55% of children in private domestic and international adoptions and 46% of children in foster care adoptions receive such services yet mental health providers and professionals receive little to no training on the unique issues that exist for adoptive, foster, birth and kinship families. Often, the presenting behaviors do not appear to be adoption related and thus the underlying issues are then left unrecognized and untreated. In this session, we will explore the impact of disruptions on attachment and how, even at a young age, children do remember more than most adults give them credit for. Establishing permanency, though important, is not the sole solution to the trauma children (and families!) have endured and supporting them as they heal is integral to helping them thrive. 

Learning objectives