Adoption Counseling and Education
Counseling through all stages of the adoption experience.
Christine offers a full range of adoption counseling, from preadoption to adulthood. She helps couples and single parents determine if adoption is right for them; helps adoptive parents understand their unique roles as adoptive parents; addresses developmental or behavioral challenges of adopted children; and assists adult adoptees in processing, and coming to terms with their adoption experience.
Her message about adoption is that while it is, indeed, a positive and a rewarding way to build a family, it does require special attention. Adoption, by definition, holds a disrupted attachment experience, and thus attachment trauma. The baby is taken from the birth mother, either at birth, or later, and placed with adoptive parents. Often there are other substitute caretakers.
All adoptions hold in them a disrupted attachment (or attachment trauma)
A disrupted relationship with a biological parent (or any caretaker) at any age (including at birth), is a disrupted attachment. Without conscious repair, this attachment trauma has the potential to create developmental and emotional challenges for the individual throughout life. These developmental challenges can be overcome with proper understanding and attention. Attachment repair is at the core of adoption counseling and education offered by Christine.
Christine's extensive, award-winning experience.
Christine brings extensive, “award winning” experience to her adoption services. She worked as an adoption practitioner for decades before opening her psychotherapy practice. In 1985, she received the Meritorious Service Award from the Commissioner of Social Services for the Commonwealth of Virginia for work with Virginia’s Children.