Working with Adoptive Parents

Practical techniques for guiding parents through the stages of adoption and beyond Editors Virginia Brabender and April Fallon are clinical psychologists and also adoptive parents whose families are acquainted with both the uncertainty and joy of adoption. In Working with Adoptive Parents, they offer an in-depth treatment of the distinctive needs, feelings, impulses, expectations, and conflicts that adoptive parents experience through the stages of adoption and beyond. This volume offers a comprehensive picture of adoption through an exploration of the experiences and developmental processes of the adoptive parent. Featuring contributions from mental health professionals whose careers have focused on work with families through the adoption process, this unique book: Covers the theory, research, and practice of adoptive parenting throughout the life cycle Explores the issues unique to the adoptive mother and adoptive father as they traverse the stages of parenting Offers a close look at families with special needs children Acknowledges and explores the great diversity among adoptive families and the kinship networks in which they are embedded Examines attachment issues between adoptive parent and child Providing a framework for therapists to conceptualize their work with adoptive parents, Working with Adoptive Parents clarifies and facilitates the journey that many of these families face.

Foreword xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xxi About the Editors xxiii Contributors xxv Chapter 1 Setting the Stage: The Adoptive Parent in Context 1 Virginia M. Brabender and April E. Fallon Characteristics of Adoptive Parents 2 Serving the Needs of Adoptive Parents 5 History of Adoption 8 Contemporary Controversies 16 Practical Points 20 Conclusions 21 Chapter 2 Theoretical Contributions to the Understanding of Parent-Child Bonding in Adoption 23 April E. Fallon and Barbara L. Goldsmith Before the Family Becomes a Unit: Daniel Stern and Intrapsychic Reorganization 23 The Case of Dora 25 Bowlby and the Importance of Secure Attachment in Healthy Development 26 The Parallel Caregiving System: Contributions of George and Solomon 28 Ego Psychology and the Significance of Adaptation 32 Contributions of D. W. Winnicott 33 Kohut and the Development of Self-Esteem 37 Mentalization: Holding the Adopted Child in Mind 38 Separation-Individuation and the Contributions of Margaret Mahler 41 Practical Points 43 Conclusions 44 Chapter 3 Using Research to Inform Best Practices in Working With Adoptive Families 45 Hal S. Shorey, Sanjay R. Nath, and Meridith Carter The History of Research on Attachment and Parent-Child Interactions 46 Research on Adoption 50 Attachment-Based Interventions for Use in Adoption 56 The Circle of Security 57 Practical Points 59 Conclusion 59 Chapter 4 The Adoptive Mother 61 Virginia M. Brabender, Amanda Swartz, Mary Winzinger, and April E. Fallon The Eras of Adoptive Motherhood 61 Adolescence 80 Practical Points 84 Conclusion 85 Chapter 5 The Adoptive Father 87 Rao Gogineni and April E. Fallon Important Role Functions of the Father 87 Becoming and Being an Adoptive Father 92 Practical Points 103 Conclusion 104 Chapter 6 Recognizing Diversity in Adoptive Families 105 Virginia M. Brabender, April E. Fallon, Alicia Padovano, and Phil Rutter Identity Variables Within the Addressing Framework 106 Family Structure 125 Practical Points 127 Conclusion 127 Chapter 7 Adoption of Children With Special Health Care Needs 131 S. Ileana Lindstrom, Sonia Voynow, and Bret A. Boyer Three Approach Classes 132 Comparison to Children in the General Population 134 Disruption of Adoption for Children With SHCN 134 Who Are the Families Who Adopt These Children? 135 Commitment 135 Preparation 137 Coping and Stress 140 Existential Issues 142 Posttraumatic Stress 142 Ambiguous Loss 143 Posttraumatic Growth 144 Marital Satisfaction 145 Practical Points 145 Conclusion 147 Chapter 8 Parenting the Young Child 149 Elaine Frank and Denise Rowe Ghosts in Adoptive Families 149 Intervention With Adoptive Families: Developmental Guidance, Parent-Child Groups, and Parent-Child Therapy 153 Parenting Cornerstones for Adoptive Families 156 Enhancing the Parent-Child Relationship in Adoptive Families: Developing an Adoption Dialogue 163 Practical Points 168 Conclusion 168 Chapter 9 Adoptive Parenting of Teenagers and Young Adults 169 Joseph White Developmental Themes of Adolescence and Early Adulthood 169 Individuation, Independence, and the Adoptive Parent-Child Relationship 172 Insights for Parents and Therapists 174 Identity Formation in International, Transcultural, and Transracial Adoptees 177 Practical Points 180 Conclusions 180 Chapter 10 Therapeutic Interventions With Adopted Children and Adoptive Parents: A Psychoanalytic Developmental Approach 181 Theodore Fallon Jr. Introduction 181 Development of the Human Mind 181 Therapeutic Intervention in a Psychoanalytic Developmental Approach 182 Parent Problems and Child Problems in the Context of a Psychoanalytic Developmental Approach 182 Intergenerational Transmission of the Human Mind—The Missing Link 184 Evaluating the Parent-Child Dyad 185 Practical Points 194 Conclusion 194 Chapter 11 Adoptive Parent as Consultant, Educator, and Advocator 195 Virginia M. Brabender and Toni Whitmore The Roots of Problems Facing Adoptive Parents 197 Action Implications 200 Practical Points 210 Conclusions 211 Chapter 12 Meeting the Needs of Adoptive Parents: Practice, Training, and Research 213 Patricia G. Ramsey, Virginia M. Brabender, and April E. Fallon Practice 213 Training 223 Research 228 Practical Points 231 Conclusions 231 References 233 Author Index 271 Subject Index 281