Understanding and Managing Loss in Adoption

Understanding and Managing Loss in Adoption
David Brodzinsky, PhD

David Brodzinsky, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Developmental and Clinical Psychology and past Director of the Foster Care Counseling Project at Rutgers University. He also was a founding director and served for 10 years on the Board of Directors of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute in New York City.

Currently, he is Research and Project Director for the Institute. For the past three decades, his research and scholarly writing has focused primarily on issues related to the adjustment of adopted and foster children and their families. He is especially well known for his research on developmental and family issues related to adopted children’s adjustment.

Class Description

The experience of loss is a core psychological issue for individuals who are adopted. Understanding the way in which loss is experienced by these individuals and developing strategies for helping them manage the loss are important goals, both for clinicians and adoptive parents.

This half-day workshop, geared toward mental health and adoption professionals, will examine the multidimensional nature of adoption-related loss, it's developmental components, and ways in which clinicians and adoptive parents can help adopted individuals cope with it. Specific clinical interventions targeting adoption-related loss will be discussed and demonstrated.