Are We Getting it Right? Strategies for Working with Adoptive Children and Their FamiliesPresenters: Sheralyn Shockey-Pope, LMFT and Jill Johnson-Young, LCSW Adoptive children are often misdiagnosed with more serious mental health concerns than are warranted. This workshop challenged that notion and asked that the therapist take a look at her/his own bias s/he may have in respect to adoptive children and families and develop her/his own clinical style in respect to adoptive families. In recent years too many adoptive children have been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) or other serious diagnoses that are not warranted; the traumas experienced by children may be the cause of the behavioral problems seen by clinicians. Research was presented that suggests children who experience trauma have actual structural changes within the brain. Additionally, some family therapists incorrectly diagnose adoptive children with more serious mental illnesses versus non-adoptive children. Further, it will be suggested other diagnoses might be more appropriate and therefore more treatable, providing more hope to the families. Results of a brief survey of four Southern California counties revealed that about half of all post-adoption service calls received were from adoptive families seeking a “good adoption therapist.” Additionally, many families had already gone through 3-5 therapists who were of little or no help with their family problems. Becoming a capable therapist working with adoptive families is a skill set that is not taught in graduate school. These families need therapists that have the proficiency to decipher if “the adoption” or “the trauma” that occurred before is now the problem. Children adopted from the foster care system have experienced at least one, but often many, traumatic events in their lives. These children often do not receive quality mental health services while in care, and once they are adopted, finding the properly-skilled therapist is difficult as the therapist needs to be able to decipher the behavioral symptoms that these children exhibit and apply the proper techniques to assist the family. This workshop reviewed how these symptoms present, including trauma behaviors (fight or flight response), emotional responses, delays in emotional, social, and/or physical developmental stages, as well as how to deal with the concerns of the adoptive family. An interactive exercise was featured which allowed participants to review behavioral symptoms and relate them to diagnostic classifications based on the DSM-V. Intervention strategies were also discussed and resources offered. Biographical Sketch: Sheralyn L. Shockey-Pope, LMFT co-founded Central Counseling Services in Riverside, CA. She specializes in working with adoptive families, people who have experienced traumatic events, and mood disorders. She is in full-time private practice. Previously Ms. Pope was a supervisor of the Riverside County Department of Public Social Services Resource Family Training and Assessment Unit, responsible for the county’s training of all foster, adoptive, and kinship (relative) family training. She has 25 years of experience working within the CPS or probation department’s system in three counties. Jill A. Johnson-Young, LCSW is the Senior Social Worker for Companion Care Hospice. She co-founded Central Counseling Services where she uses her extensive knowledge of Child Abuse, Adoption, and grief/ loss issues to work with children and families daily. Ms. Johnson-Young has over 18 years of experience working for Child Protective Services. Theory/Practice of Therapy: This workshop is based on attachment theory, John Bowlby, Alfred Adler, and Rudolf Dreikurs. In addition to trauma theory with the ACE Study Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA, and Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, CA, is child abuse trauma. Infants' brains are hard-wired to “connect”' and it is from the first few caregivers that they are making decisions about who they are, how the world works, and how they fit into it...and what they need to do to survive or to thrive. Most children who come into the foster/adoptive system are simply surviving in those early years. The decisions they've made were largely implicit (without language, concepts are stored in the 'limbic' part of the brain - emotions, body sensations) and so, children often behave in ways that don't make logical sense to us (or to them), but are simply exhibiting 'survival' mechanisms. Additionally, Cognitive Behavioral, play therapy and other techniques were discussed. Resources: Child Welfare Information Gateway (2012); information from “Selecting and working with a therapist skilled in adoption;” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau was also presented. I Course Outline: Objectives History of Adoptive Children’s Experiences with Trauma/Attachment. Define Attachment Briefly Define Trauma (APA) Brain Research: Changes in physical structures and chemistry Behavioral Symptoms of Trauma Fight or flight response Why is specialized adoptive training needed? Families were ok prior to adoption Feel therapists blame them Therapists do not get training in graduate school Diagnosis activity (Interactive) RAD, PTSD, Childhood Depression/mood disorders, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), ADHD/ADD Rates of Disorders Intervention Strategies/Points to Consider Adoptive parents must be included in treatment plan. Multiple moves delay development Not all clients need to “relive” past traumas More serious diagnosis means less hope for the family Attachment/bonding is primary but not all foster children have major attachment disorders Resources Course Learning Objectives: After completing this workshop, participants would be able to:
Method of Presentation and Audio/Visual Needs: Lecture, power-point, interactive participant exercise Flip Charts, LCD projector for Power Point Handouts: Yes, Power Point Handout, diagnostic sheet (1), Resource lists (1) approximately 10 pages. |