The contradictions of identity-work for parents of visibly adopted children
Abstract
As the number of families formed through visible adoption continues to increase, so too does the need to understand how members communicatively experience their families. Grounded in the interpretive paradigm and framed by relational dialectics theory, the researcher conducted 31 interviews with 40 parents to investigate what, if any, contradictions parents experience as they engage in identity-work. The researcher describes six contradictions active in parents’ identity-work: (i) similarity and difference, (ii) invisibility and visibility, (iii) integration and distance, (iv) fortune and loss, (v) openness and closedness and (vi) community and privacy. Implications of these findings are discussed to provide insight to researchers and individuals who interact with members of families formed through visible adoption.
Psychological ramifications of adoption and implications for counseling.
Helwig, Andrew A.; Ruthven, Dorothy H.
Journal of Mental Health Counseling, Vol 12(1), Jan 1990, 24-37.
Abstract
1. Identifies some of the significant issues surrounding adoption for the adoptee, the adoptive parents, and the new family. Considerations before adoption and issues following adoption, including transracial adoptions, the adoption of special-needs children, and the unique needs and concerns of older children in the adoption process are reviewed. Issues surrounding the adoptive family, the biological parents, and open adoption are discussed. Counseling interventions appropriate for use in an adoption situation are explored. In the application of therapeutic interventions with adoptees and adoptive families, the mental health counselor must be sensitive to the developmental stages of the adoptee. Specific interventions include redefinition, use of paradox, and a variety of family therapy approaches including family sculpting and psychodrama. Group therapy has also been found useful. The development of a "Life Book," as described by K. A. Backhaus (see record 1985-23470-001) and M. Elbow (see record 1987-29194-001), enhances the adoptee's sense of self and encourages individuation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Adopted Adolescents' Overrepresentation in Mental Health Counseling: Adoptees' Problems or Parents' Lower Threshold for Referral?
BRENT C. MILLER, PH.D. , XITAO FAN, PH.D., HAROLD D. GROTEVANT, PH.D., MATHEW CHRISTENSEN, M.S., DIANA COYL, PH.D., MANFRED VAN DULMEN, M.S.
Accepted 11 July 2000.
ABSTRACT
A larger proportion of adopted adolescents receive mental health counseling than do their nonadopted peers. Adoptees might have more problems that require counseling, or their adoptive parents might have a lower threshold for referral (or both).
Title: Adoption Counseling as a Preventive Mental Health Specialty . Authors:Katz, Linda Descriptors:Adoption; Guidance; Home Visits; Mental Health; Prevention; Program Descriptions; Quality of Life; Risk; Social Workers Source:Child Welfare, v59 n3 p161-68 Mar 1980 More Info:
Help Peer-Reviewed: More Info:
Help N/A Publisher:N/A Publication Date:1980-03-00 Pages:N/A Pub Types:Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive Abstract:Maintains that adoption in and of itself puts the family at some degree of risk and suggests a conceptual framework of prevention with adoption workers acting as mental health counselors working with the families. (CM)
Barth, R. P. and Miller, J. M. (2000), Building Effective Post-Adoption Services: What is the Empirical Foundation? . Family Relations, 49: 447-455. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00447.x
While adoptions in general are highly successful, families do experience disappointment and disruption, outcomes that may be reduced by provision of post-adoption services. Studies show that adoptive parents request a variety of services, yet few demonstration projects have been done to evaluate their effectiveness. In this paper, we recognize the predominance of attachment theory in post-adoptive services and identify alternative approaches that may have a better fit with the needs and preferences identified by familiesJournal of Counseling & Development
Issue: Volume 81, Number 4 / Fall 2003
Pages: 389 - 399
URL: Linking Options
Themes of Hope and Healing: Infertile Couples' Experiences of Adoption
Judith C. Daniluk A1 and Joss Hurtig-Mitchell A1
A1 Counselling Psychology Program, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
Abstract:
Using a qualitative approach, the authors explored the experiences of becoming parents through adoption after unsuccessful infertility treatments. During in-depth narrative interviews, 39 infertile couples shared their stories of how they determined that adoption was an acceptable parenting option, the vicissitudes of the adoption process, and their experiences of becoming adoptive parents. Phenomenological analysis of these data revealed 3 overarching themes. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for counselors who work with infertile couples considering adoption, clients engaged in the adoption process, and those who have recently made the transition to parenthood through adoption.
Sobol, M. P. and Daly, K. J. (1992), The Adoption Alternative for Pregnant Adolescents: Decision Making, Consequences, and Policy Implications . Journal of Social Issues, 48: 143-161. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00901.x
It is estimated that approximately 3% of pregnant adolescents who carry to term will place their infant for adoption. Birth mothers who place for adoption have higher socioeconomic indices and are less influenced by a negative social network than are those who keep the child. As a result of placing an infant, birth mothers may experience an enduring sense of loss. This is exacerbated by the social blocking of open grieving and restricted opportunities to participate, even indirectly, in the life of the child. If adoption is to become a more frequently used pregnancy resolution option, then structural changes in the delivery of counseling and supportive services must be considered.
Counseling Adopted Persons in Adulthood
Integrating Practice and Research
Abstract
For the past 50 years, adults who were adopted during infancy have been research participants for empirical studies with goals ranging from twin studies for heritability, to adjustment following adoption, to attachment. While the research body is broad, it has given little attention to counseling practices with adopted adults. Because empirical research and clinical practice can inform each other, this article integrates literatures in both areas so that counseling practice with adopted adults can guide research, just as research guides practice. The authors grouped the clinically relevant literature into three main areas: identity (including genealogical and transracial adoption issues), search and reunion, and long-term outcomes. Within each section, the authors critiqued the literature as it informs counseling practice, used case studies to depict clinical implications, and suggested treatment strategies for use with adult adoptees. Epidemiological research found adequate adjustment for adopted adults. However, clinicians and researchers must address the consistent finding that a subset of adoptees struggles and copes with issues different than their nonadopted counterparts. The authors identify best clinical practices and a future research agenda related to adult adoptees and propose an adoption-sensitive paradigm for research and practice.
Birth Parents in Adoption
Research, Practice, and Counseling Psychology
Abstract
This article addresses birth parents in the adoption triad by reviewing and integrating both the clinical and empirical literature from a number of professional disciplines with practice case studies. This review includes literature on the decision to relinquish one's child for adoption, the early postrelinquishment period, and the effects throughout the lifespan on birth parents. Clinical symptoms for birth parents include unresolved grief, isolation, difficulty with future relationships, and trauma. Some recent research has found that some birth mothers who relinquish tend to fare comparably to those who do not relinquish on external criteria of well-being (e.g., high school graduation rates). However, there appear to be serious long-term psychological consequences of relinquishment. Limitations of the current literature are presented, and recommendations for practice and research are offered.
Counseling Adopted Persons in Adulthood
Integrating Practice and Research
Abstract
For the past 50 years, adults who were adopted during infancy have been research participants for empirical studies with goals ranging from twin studies for heritability, to adjustment following adoption, to attachment. While the research body is broad, it has given little attention to counseling practices with adopted adults. Because empirical research and clinical practice can inform each other, this article integrates literatures in both areas so that counseling practice with adopted adults can guide research, just as research guides practice. The authors grouped the clinically relevant literature into three main areas: identity (including genealogical and transracial adoption issues), search and reunion, and long-term outcomes. Within each section, the authors critiqued the literature as it informs counseling practice, used case studies to depict clinical implications, and suggested treatment strategies for use with adult adoptees. Epidemiological research found adequate adjustment for adopted adults. However, clinicians and researchers must address the consistent finding that a subset of adoptees struggles and copes with issues different than their nonadopted counterparts. The authors identify best clinical practices and a future research agenda related to adult adoptees and propose an adoption-sensitive paradigm for research and practice.
Abstract
As the number of families formed through visible adoption continues to increase, so too does the need to understand how members communicatively experience their families. Grounded in the interpretive paradigm and framed by relational dialectics theory, the researcher conducted 31 interviews with 40 parents to investigate what, if any, contradictions parents experience as they engage in identity-work. The researcher describes six contradictions active in parents’ identity-work: (i) similarity and difference, (ii) invisibility and visibility, (iii) integration and distance, (iv) fortune and loss, (v) openness and closedness and (vi) community and privacy. Implications of these findings are discussed to provide insight to researchers and individuals who interact with members of families formed through visible adoption.
Psychological ramifications of adoption and implications for counseling.
Helwig, Andrew A.; Ruthven, Dorothy H.
Journal of Mental Health Counseling, Vol 12(1), Jan 1990, 24-37.
Abstract
1. Identifies some of the significant issues surrounding adoption for the adoptee, the adoptive parents, and the new family. Considerations before adoption and issues following adoption, including transracial adoptions, the adoption of special-needs children, and the unique needs and concerns of older children in the adoption process are reviewed. Issues surrounding the adoptive family, the biological parents, and open adoption are discussed. Counseling interventions appropriate for use in an adoption situation are explored. In the application of therapeutic interventions with adoptees and adoptive families, the mental health counselor must be sensitive to the developmental stages of the adoptee. Specific interventions include redefinition, use of paradox, and a variety of family therapy approaches including family sculpting and psychodrama. Group therapy has also been found useful. The development of a "Life Book," as described by K. A. Backhaus (see record 1985-23470-001) and M. Elbow (see record 1987-29194-001), enhances the adoptee's sense of self and encourages individuation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Adopted Adolescents' Overrepresentation in Mental Health Counseling: Adoptees' Problems or Parents' Lower Threshold for Referral?
BRENT C. MILLER, PH.D. , XITAO FAN, PH.D., HAROLD D. GROTEVANT, PH.D., MATHEW CHRISTENSEN, M.S., DIANA COYL, PH.D., MANFRED VAN DULMEN, M.S.
Accepted 11 July 2000.
ABSTRACT
A larger proportion of adopted adolescents receive mental health counseling than do their nonadopted peers. Adoptees might have more problems that require counseling, or their adoptive parents might have a lower threshold for referral (or both).
Title: Adoption Counseling as a Preventive Mental Health Specialty . Authors:Katz, Linda Descriptors:Adoption; Guidance; Home Visits; Mental Health; Prevention; Program Descriptions; Quality of Life; Risk; Social Workers Source:Child Welfare, v59 n3 p161-68 Mar 1980 More Info:
Help Peer-Reviewed: More Info:
Help N/A Publisher:N/A Publication Date:1980-03-00 Pages:N/A Pub Types:Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive Abstract:Maintains that adoption in and of itself puts the family at some degree of risk and suggests a conceptual framework of prevention with adoption workers acting as mental health counselors working with the families. (CM)
Barth, R. P. and Miller, J. M. (2000), Building Effective Post-Adoption Services: What is the Empirical Foundation? . Family Relations, 49: 447-455. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00447.x
While adoptions in general are highly successful, families do experience disappointment and disruption, outcomes that may be reduced by provision of post-adoption services. Studies show that adoptive parents request a variety of services, yet few demonstration projects have been done to evaluate their effectiveness. In this paper, we recognize the predominance of attachment theory in post-adoptive services and identify alternative approaches that may have a better fit with the needs and preferences identified by familiesJournal of Counseling & Development
Issue: Volume 81, Number 4 / Fall 2003
Pages: 389 - 399
URL: Linking Options
Themes of Hope and Healing: Infertile Couples' Experiences of Adoption
Judith C. Daniluk A1 and Joss Hurtig-Mitchell A1
A1 Counselling Psychology Program, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada
Abstract:
Using a qualitative approach, the authors explored the experiences of becoming parents through adoption after unsuccessful infertility treatments. During in-depth narrative interviews, 39 infertile couples shared their stories of how they determined that adoption was an acceptable parenting option, the vicissitudes of the adoption process, and their experiences of becoming adoptive parents. Phenomenological analysis of these data revealed 3 overarching themes. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for counselors who work with infertile couples considering adoption, clients engaged in the adoption process, and those who have recently made the transition to parenthood through adoption.
Sobol, M. P. and Daly, K. J. (1992), The Adoption Alternative for Pregnant Adolescents: Decision Making, Consequences, and Policy Implications . Journal of Social Issues, 48: 143-161. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1992.tb00901.x
It is estimated that approximately 3% of pregnant adolescents who carry to term will place their infant for adoption. Birth mothers who place for adoption have higher socioeconomic indices and are less influenced by a negative social network than are those who keep the child. As a result of placing an infant, birth mothers may experience an enduring sense of loss. This is exacerbated by the social blocking of open grieving and restricted opportunities to participate, even indirectly, in the life of the child. If adoption is to become a more frequently used pregnancy resolution option, then structural changes in the delivery of counseling and supportive services must be considered.
Counseling Adopted Persons in Adulthood
Integrating Practice and Research
Abstract
For the past 50 years, adults who were adopted during infancy have been research participants for empirical studies with goals ranging from twin studies for heritability, to adjustment following adoption, to attachment. While the research body is broad, it has given little attention to counseling practices with adopted adults. Because empirical research and clinical practice can inform each other, this article integrates literatures in both areas so that counseling practice with adopted adults can guide research, just as research guides practice. The authors grouped the clinically relevant literature into three main areas: identity (including genealogical and transracial adoption issues), search and reunion, and long-term outcomes. Within each section, the authors critiqued the literature as it informs counseling practice, used case studies to depict clinical implications, and suggested treatment strategies for use with adult adoptees. Epidemiological research found adequate adjustment for adopted adults. However, clinicians and researchers must address the consistent finding that a subset of adoptees struggles and copes with issues different than their nonadopted counterparts. The authors identify best clinical practices and a future research agenda related to adult adoptees and propose an adoption-sensitive paradigm for research and practice.
Birth Parents in Adoption
Research, Practice, and Counseling Psychology
Abstract
This article addresses birth parents in the adoption triad by reviewing and integrating both the clinical and empirical literature from a number of professional disciplines with practice case studies. This review includes literature on the decision to relinquish one's child for adoption, the early postrelinquishment period, and the effects throughout the lifespan on birth parents. Clinical symptoms for birth parents include unresolved grief, isolation, difficulty with future relationships, and trauma. Some recent research has found that some birth mothers who relinquish tend to fare comparably to those who do not relinquish on external criteria of well-being (e.g., high school graduation rates). However, there appear to be serious long-term psychological consequences of relinquishment. Limitations of the current literature are presented, and recommendations for practice and research are offered.
Counseling Adopted Persons in Adulthood
Integrating Practice and Research
Abstract
For the past 50 years, adults who were adopted during infancy have been research participants for empirical studies with goals ranging from twin studies for heritability, to adjustment following adoption, to attachment. While the research body is broad, it has given little attention to counseling practices with adopted adults. Because empirical research and clinical practice can inform each other, this article integrates literatures in both areas so that counseling practice with adopted adults can guide research, just as research guides practice. The authors grouped the clinically relevant literature into three main areas: identity (including genealogical and transracial adoption issues), search and reunion, and long-term outcomes. Within each section, the authors critiqued the literature as it informs counseling practice, used case studies to depict clinical implications, and suggested treatment strategies for use with adult adoptees. Epidemiological research found adequate adjustment for adopted adults. However, clinicians and researchers must address the consistent finding that a subset of adoptees struggles and copes with issues different than their nonadopted counterparts. The authors identify best clinical practices and a future research agenda related to adult adoptees and propose an adoption-sensitive paradigm for research and practice.
