Adoption Counseling
Therapy for Adults & Families Navigating Adoption in and around Annapolis, Maryland
When Adoption is Part of Your Story
Family. Sometimes it’s something we’re born into, sometimes we marry into, and sometimes we choose. But when adoption is a part of your story, the word “family” can feel like a special language, one that only you truly understand.
Maybe you found yourself needing to make an adoption plan because parenting wasn’t the right option when faced with an unexpected pregnancy. Or perhaps you’re an adoptee who feels like you belong to a loving family, but the differences in appearance, interests, or temperament leave you feeling like you don’t quite fit in. Or maybe, after facing life’s challenges, you’ve always dreamed of becoming a parent, but Mother Nature or circumstances had other plans.
If this resonates with you, know that you’re not alone—and you don’t have to face these challenges on your own. Adoption can be hard, and counseling offers a safe, supportive space to work through the emotions and struggles that feel overwhelming. We’re here to guide you through this journey, providing the support and understanding you and your family need as you navigate the complexities of adoption.
About Our Adoption Counseling Services:
Who is this therapy for?
Adults & families navigating adoption.
What concerns do we address?
We help adoptive parents, families, and children navigate grief, loss, confusion, identity, belonging, family relationships, feelings of rejection & abandonment, open adoption dynamics, and more.
What does adoption counseling involve?
We may use CBT, DBT, or other modaltities to approach your concerns from a holistic and personalized approach. Adoption counseling may or may not involve family sessions, depending on each unique situation.
Other General Info
We accept some insurance. We offer virtual & in-person options. We are located in Annapolis, Maryland.
How Does Adoption Counseling Work?
Adoption counseling offers a compassionate, supportive space to talk through the unique emotional layers of adoption. With a therapist who understands adoption-related experiences, individuals and families can explore feelings, relationships, and questions around identity, belonging, and connection at their own pace.
How Can Adoption Counseling Help Me & My Family?
Adoption counseling can help you and your family navigate the complex emotions that often accompany adoption, including grief, loss, identity questions, and parenting challenges. Therapy supports understanding, strengthens relationships, and helps each family member feel seen, supported, and valued.
Is Adoption Counseling Right for Me & My Family?
If adoption has brought up difficult emotions, unanswered questions, or moments of feeling misunderstood, adoption counseling may be a helpful next step. You don’t need to have everything figured out—support can help you move toward acceptance, clarity, and a deeper sense of peace and connection as a family.
Wondering What the Therapy Process Looks Like? We Got You.
1. Intake
The first session is a welcoming space to share where you are in your adoption journey and what feels most challenging right now. The therapist takes time to understand your experiences, relationships, and goals, while answering questions about the counseling process.
2. Assessment
As counseling continues, the therapist works with you or your family to better understand the emotional layers of adoption. This may include exploring identity, attachment, family dynamics, past losses, and patterns that influence how adoption is experienced today.
3. Treatment
Sessions focus on building insight, emotional resilience, and healthy communication around adoption-related concerns. Therapy is tailored to your needs and may support adult adoptees, adoptive parents, or families in navigating connection, belonging, and understanding.
4. Integration
Over time, insights and tools from counseling are applied to everyday life and relationships. This stage supports greater self-awareness, stronger family bonds, and more compassionate ways of responding to adoption-related emotions and challenges.
5. Follow-Up and Ongoing Support
As needs evolve, counseling may shift toward maintaining growth, deepening understanding, or supporting new stages of the adoption journey. Some individuals or families continue with regular sessions, while others return as needed for ongoing support.
FAQs about Adoption Counseling
What is adoption counseling?
Adoption counseling is a specialized form of therapy that supports anyone touched by adoption—birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees. It provides a safe, nonjudgmental space to explore complex emotions such as grief, identity, guilt, confusion, or longing. Whether you’re working through the decision to place a child for adoption, adjusting to adoptive parenting, or processing your experience as an adoptee, adoption counseling helps you navigate these deeply personal experiences with support and understanding.
Who can benefit from adoption counseling?
Adoption counseling can support adult adoptees, adoptive parents, birth parents, and families at any stage of the adoption journey, whether challenges arise early on or years later.
What issues are commonly addressed in adoption counseling?
Counseling may address identity questions, grief or loss, attachment concerns, parenting challenges, family communication, and the emotional impact of adoption across the lifespan.
Do we need to be in crisis to seek adoption counseling?
No. Many individuals and families seek adoption counseling to better understand their experiences, strengthen relationships, and receive support navigating complex emotions, not just during times of crisis.
What are the 7 core stages of adoption?
The “7 Core Issues in Adoption” framework is widely recognized in adoption counseling and reflects the lifelong impact adoption can have. These issues can affect adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents in different ways:
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Loss – The foundation of adoption begins with loss for all members of the triad.
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Rejection – Even in loving families, adoptees may wrestle with feelings of being unwanted.
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Guilt and Shame – Birth parents may feel guilt; adoptees may feel shame about their story.
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Grief – Often unspoken, grief can resurface at different life stages.
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Identity – Questions about “Who am I?” and “Where do I come from?” are common.
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Intimacy – Trust and closeness may feel difficult to build or maintain.
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Control – Feelings of powerlessness can emerge from early decisions made by others.
Adoption counseling helps individuals work through these layers with compassion and care, recognizing that healing is a journey, not a destination.
What type of therapy is best for adoptees?
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but many adoptees benefit from therapies that explore identity, attachment, and emotion regulation. Therapies like Attachment-Based Therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Trauma-Informed Therapy, and Narrative Therapy can be especially helpful. A therapist trained in adoption-related issues will be able to help adoptees process their story, explore their sense of belonging, and address any emotional wounds or questions that may arise throughout their life.
Sources
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American Psychological Association (APA) – Adoption & Mental Health
https://www.apa.org/monitor/nov01/adoption -
Child Welfare Information Gateway (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services) – Mental and Behavioral Health of Adopted Children and Families
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/adoption/adopt-parenting/health/ -
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) – Adoption & Foster Care
https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Adoption-001.aspx -
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) – Child & Family Mental Health
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/child-and-adolescent-mental-health
Address
147 Old Solomons Island Rd Suite 303, Annapolis, MD 21401
Hours
Mon-Fri: 8:00am - 8:00pm
Sat-Sun: By Appointment Only