Adoption Issues

Adoption is a beautiful process, but it can also be a difficult process for all the individuals involved. Children who are adopted may struggle with a variety of issues:

– They are at higher risk for mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, suicidal thoughts, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and separation
anxiety.
– They may have experienced and be grappling with trauma they experienced prior to adoption.
– They may struggle with attachment issues. For example, they may have difficulty bonding with their adoptive parents, or alternatively may not want to be separated from their adoptive
parents.
– They may struggle with questions of identity.
– They may experience feelings of being abandoned or rejected by their birth parents.
– They may struggle with feelings of not belonging especially if their culture or race differs from that of their adoptive family.

Although it is possible that adopted children may experiences any or all of the above concerns many children who are adopted grow up happy and psychologically healthy.

Birth parents may also struggle with the process of adoption. Deciding whether or not to put your child up for adoption is a difficult decision that brings up a lot of strong emotions. If you are grappling with this decision reaching out to an objective third party such as a therapist can help you to sort through your feelings.

Birth parents who put their children up for adoption may experience:

– Guilt
– Sadness
– Regret
– Grief
– Depression
– If the adoption is an open adoption birth parents may have difficulty navigating what their role in the child’s life is.

Adoptive parents are also impacted by the adoption process.

– They may struggle with managing any mental health concerns their adoptive children struggle with
– They may need to deal with misinformation about adoption from external sources. For example, the myth that adoptive families are not as legitimate as biological families. Internalizing these negatives messages can lead to depression.

If you are struggling with these concerns a therapist can help you with your own self-care and mental health.