Adoption & Foster Care Support for Children, Teens, Young Adults, and Caregivers in Portland, OR

Supporting Families Formed Through Adoption and Foster Care

Adoption and foster care can bring tremendous joy, connection, and belonging, while also presenting unique challenges for children, young people, and caregivers. Many children who have experienced adoption, foster care, guardianship, kinship care, or other family transitions have also experienced loss, separation, uncertainty, trauma, disrupted attachments, or multiple caregiving environments.

These experiences can affect emotional regulation, relationships, behavior, trust, identity development, self-esteem, and mental health. Therapy can provide a supportive space to help children, adolescents, young adults, and caregivers better understand these experiences, strengthen relationships, and build resilience.

Common Adoption and Foster Care-Related Concerns

As a child psychologist, teen therapist, and young adult therapist in Portland, Oregon, I help clients navigate concerns such as:

• Attachment and relationship difficulties

• Trauma and traumatic stress

• Anxiety and depression

• Grief, loss, and separation experiences

• Emotional regulation challenges

• Identity development and questions about belonging

• Family transitions and life changes

• School and social difficulties

• Behavioral challenges

• Adoption-related questions and feelings

• Foster care transitions

• Communication difficulties within families

• Trust and relationship concerns

These experiences can emerge at different developmental stages, including years after an adoption or placement, as children and young adults gain a deeper understanding of their personal history.

Evidence-Based Treatment

I provide a compassionate, trauma-informed, and attachment-focused approach to therapy that recognizes the unique strengths and challenges of adoptive, foster, kinship, and guardianship families.

Treatment may incorporate:

• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Family therapy

• Parent coaching and caregiver consultation

• Attachment-focused interventions

• Emotional regulation skill building

• Identity exploration and support

Therapy is tailored to each child's experiences, developmental needs, cultural background, family structure, and goals.

What to Expect During Therapy

Therapy begins with understanding your family's story, strengths, and current challenges. Together, we explore the experiences that may be contributing to emotional, behavioral, or relationship difficulties and identify practical goals for treatment.

Treatment may focus on:

• Processing grief, loss, and traumatic experiences

• Strengthening attachment and connection

• Improving emotional regulation

• Building trust and communication

• Supporting healthy identity development

• Addressing anxiety, depression, or behavioral concerns

• Helping children and young adults make sense of their personal history

• Strengthening family relationships and caregiver confidence

Parents and caregivers are often actively involved in treatment. Supporting caregivers is an important part of helping children feel safe, understood, and connected.

An Attachment- and Trauma-Informed Approach

Children and young adults with adoption or foster care histories often benefit from approaches that acknowledge both the joys and the complexities of their experiences. My goal is to create a supportive environment where clients can explore difficult emotions, celebrate strengths, strengthen relationships, and develop a greater sense of security and belonging.

Whether your family is navigating a recent placement, an adoption transition, ongoing behavioral concerns, identity questions, or the long-term effects of early adversity, therapy can provide tools and support to help your family move forward together.