Understanding Adoption

Adoption is a meaningful and complex experience—one that can shape identity, relationships, and emotional wellbeing across a lifetime. Whether you are an adoptee, a birth parent, or an adoptive parent, it’s completely normal to encounter questions, emotions, or challenges that feel difficult to navigate alone.

From a clinical point of view, adoption involves more than a legal process. It can touch on attachment, early developmental experiences, grief and loss, belonging, and the ongoing work of integrating one’s story. Therapy offers a supportive space to explore these layers with care and clarity. Together, we can make sense of how adoption has influenced your life, strengthen your relationships, and build tools for healing and growth.

If you’re seeking a deeper understanding of your adoption experience—or support as you move through a current transition—I’m here to help you approach it with insight, compassion, and confidence. I am currently only accepting adults touched by adoption.

A Counseling Approach Designed for the Adoptee Experience

Adoption shapes identity, relationships, and emotional well-being in ways that are often misunderstood or overlooked in traditional therapy. AdoptWell was created to change that.

AdoptWell is a specialized, adoption-competent counseling approach built for people who want a space where their full story is understood — the loss, the love, the complexity, and everything in between. Whether you’re an adoptee, a parent, or part of the adoption constellation, AdoptWell offers a clear, compassionate path toward healing and integration.

What Makes AdoptWell Different

Adoption-Competent from the Start

Most therapists aren’t trained to understand the lifelong impact of adoption. AdoptWell is built on decades of research in trauma, attachment, identity development, and ambiguous loss — all core experiences for adoptees.

• Trauma- and Identity-Informed: AdoptWell recognizes that adoption isn’t a single event. It’s a lifelong journey that shapes how people see themselves, connect with others, and make meaning of their story. This model honors that complexity with tools designed specifically for adoptees.

• A Structured, 12-Session Pathway: Clients move through a clear, supportive process that includes:

• Building safety and trust

• Understanding your adoption story

• Exploring identity and belonging

• Strengthening relationships

• Reclaiming agency and integration

• You always know where you are in the process — and where you’re going.

• The AdoptWell Assessment: Our signature assessment helps you track your growth across six key areas: safety, trauma, narrative, identity, relationships, and agency. It’s not about labels — it’s about clarity, insight, and celebrating progress.

A Space Where Your Story Is Centered

AdoptWell is built on the belief that adoptees deserve a therapeutic space where their experiences are not minimized, pathologized, or misunderstood. Here, your story is honored, your voice is centered, and your healing is supported with intention and expertise.

AdoptWell Program Creator & Leader

Whether you’re an adoptee, a parent, or part of the adoption constellation, AdoptWell offers a clear, compassionate path toward healing and integration. AdoptWell is led by Diane Ferguson, MEd, LPC.