Navigating Adoption
Adopting a child can feel overwhelming, emotional, and complex. As a licensed social worker with over 25 years of experience as an adoption specialist with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, I offer knowledgeable, compassionate guidance to support you throughout your adoption journey.
Services
People come to adoption through many meaningful paths, each shaped by personal experiences, values, and hopes for building a family. Along the way, thoughts and feelings connected to identity, loss, grief, belonging, and connection may naturally arise. Pre-adoption counseling offers a supportive space to gently explore these experiences and understand how they may influence both the adoption journey and your evolving role as a parent.
By taking time to reflect on your personal history, attachment patterns, and emotional strengths, you create a strong foundation for adoption. I provide a safe, compassionate, and nonjudgmental environment where you can gain insight, build confidence, and thoughtfully prepare for this important and life-changing chapter.
Adopting through the child welfare system can feel complex and overwhelming, and it’s common to be unsure where to turn or what questions to ask. I offer steady guidance and clear information at each stage of the process, helping you understand your options and move forward with confidence. My support includes choosing an agency, navigating approval and home study requirements, matching with a child or sibling group, and understanding the court and child welfare systems.
I also help families prepare for and navigate the relational and emotional aspects of adoption, including understanding a child’s unique needs, family integration, sibling dynamics, relationships with biological family members, post-adoption contact agreements, and identifying ongoing services and supports. My goal is to help you feel informed, supported, and prepared as you build your family.
Adoption can bring profound joy along with complex and sometimes unexpected emotions. Feelings related to grief, loss, identity, attachment, stress, or sadness may naturally surface as individuals and families adjust to new roles and relationships. Shifts in family dynamics—including changes in partnerships or sibling relationships—are also common as a new family member becomes part of the household.
I offer a compassionate, supportive, and nonjudgmental therapeutic space for individuals, couples, and families to explore these experiences, strengthen emotional resilience, and deepen connection. My goal is to support you in navigating the emotional aspects of adoption with understanding, confidence, and care, at every stage of the journey.