Working with Adoptive and Foster Families: Assessing and treating the 7 Core Issues of Adoption through play and expressive therapies

Jennifer Hannett
LCSW, RPT-S

Program Goals

Families built through adoption, foster care, and kinship care have unique needs and challenges which present in different ways in the playroom. This workshop will provide play therapists and other mental health professionals with fundamental knowledge of the 7 core issues in adoption and permanency as a way of understanding the lifelong losses, challenges, and tasks for the child/youth/adoptee, and the foster/kinship/adoptive parents. Play therapists and other participants will have the opportunity to practice trauma-informed and adoption-specific play therapy and expressive arts assessments and interventions that promote individual and family therapy goals for working with this special population. Play therapists and other mental health professionals will leave this workshop with specific play therapy tools and techniques that will aid in assessment and treatment of the 7 core issues in adoption experienced by children and families built through adoption, foster-care, and kinship care.

This 3.5 hour-long workshop will consist of didactic presentations, experiential work, and processing clinical case material.  

9:00- 10:00 AM Presentation introduction, didactic presentation of a framework for conceptualizing issues in adoption and foster care and introduction of the 7 Core Issues in adoption and permanency
10:00 -10:15 AM Group experiential activity related to grief and loss experienced by adopted and foster children 
10:15 -11:30 AM Didactic presentation of trauma-focused and adoption specific play-based assessment and treatment strategies and techniques with adoptive and foster children 
11:30 -11:45 AM Break
11:45 -12:15 PM Expressive activity demonstration on assessment of the child’s narrative and clinical considerations when working with adoptive and foster families
12:15 -12:45 PM Closing experiential expressive arts activity, summary, questions, and answers

Course Objectives

By the end of the course participants will be able to:

  • Define the three members of the adoption triad play therapists interface.
  • List the 7 core issues in adoption and permanency that show up in the playroom.
  • Identify at least 2 directive or nondirective play therapy activities used to assess or treat the core issue of grief and loss experienced by adopted or foster children. 
  • List at least two directive play therapy activities to assess or treat the core issue of identity experienced by adopted or foster children. 
  • Describe a rationale for incorporating the narrative play therapy technique of creating a LifeBook with adopted or foster families. 

General Course Information

This course is limited to 10 participants and is designed to facilitate experiential work, group discussion, and processing of clinical material.  Participants will have ample opportunity to discuss their specific needs and clinical questions.  Participant feedback will be sought out throughout the workshop.

Clinical case discussions will adhere to HIPPA regulations regarding client confidentiality.

Target audience is Mental Health Professionals: Social Workers, Psychologists, Licensed Professional Counselors and Licensed marriage and Family Therapists.

The program is Beginner Level

This event is sponsored by Starbright Training Institute.  Starbright Training Institute is approved by the Association for Play Therapy to offer continuing education specific to play therapy (APT Approved Provider No. 96-029).  

Myriam Goldin, LCSW; RPT-S, is Director of Starbright Training Institute.  Phone:  703-679-7054.  Email: starbright.inst@outlook.com   Web Page: starbrighttraininginstitute.com

Grievance Policy

STI seeks to ensure equitable treatment of every person and to make every attempt to resolve grievances in a fair manner. Please submit a written grievance to: Myriam Goldin, LCSW; RPT-S, Director of Starbright Training Institute.  Phone:  703-980-2886.  Email: starbright.inst@outlook.com   Web Page: starbrighttraininginstitute.com

Grievances would receive, to the best of our ability, corrective action in order to prevent further problems. 

Accommodations for the Differently Abled

Starbright Training Institute’s training facilities are handicap accessible. Individuals needing special accommodations please contact the Director of Starbright Training Institute. See contact information above.

There is no known commercial support nor conflict of interest for this program. 

References

Kaiser, D. 1996.  Indications of attachment security in a drawing task.  The Arts in Psychotherapy, 23(4), 333-340.

Lovett, J. (1999). Small Wonders: Healing Childhood Trauma with EMDR. New York, NY: Free Press/Simon & Schuster

Lyles, M. & Homeyer, L.E. (2015). The Use of Sandtray Therapy With Adoptive Families. Adoption Quarterly, 18(1): 67-81. 

Ncube, N. (2006).  The Tree of Life Project: Using narrative ideas in work with vulnerable children in Southern Africa.  The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and Community Work, 1, 3-16. 

O’Malley, Beth. (2011). Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child (2nd ed). Winthrop, MA: Adoption-Works.

Roszia, S.K., & Davis Maxon, A.D. (2019). Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency: A Comprehensive Guide to Promoting Understanding and Healing In Adoption, Foster Care, Kinship Families and Third Party Reproduction. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Verrier, N. (1993). The primal wound: understanding the adopted child. Lafayette, CA: Nancy Verrier.

Course Instructor Contact Information

Name: Jennifer Hannett

Website:  https://starbrighttraininginstitute.com/

Email:  jhannett@gilinstitute.com

Phone: 703-980-2738

Clinical case discussions will adhere to HIPAA regulations regarding client confidentiality.