Adoption Therapy

I work with all members of the adoption constellation.  I work at helping adopted people and adoptive parents understand that the separation of an infant from their first caregiver is a traumatic event and has life-long effects on the adopted person.  I help inform families about being mindful of adoption or relinquishment trauma.  I  teach about how to work with the seven factors that are known to effect adopted persons:

  1. Loss

  2. Rejection

  3. Shame and Guilt

  4. Grief

  5. Identity

  6. Intimacy

  7. Mastery and Control

I work with the family or the individual where they are in the process. Some people will have no awareness that adoption is playing a factor in their emotional response to a situation.

Coaching Practice

For individuals who are in a stable place psychologically and want to search for birth family, I work as a coach to support them in the emotional ups and downs of searching and sometimes re-unifying with their original genetic family.

I also work with persons who were affected by having been conceived of by a sperm donor, or discovering that their DNA is not what the same as the family who raised them.

I work with families who have difficulty with anger, communication problems, or who have lost contact with parents or children.

I use forgiveness techniques to help people understand and release anger or blame and still have justice for their situation.

For more information regarding all of our services, contact Sharon Stein McNamara Ed.D Psychology Inc in Shoreview, MN today!