Post-Adoption Seminars
We know adoptive families, birth families, and adopted adults continue to need support and education even after their adoption is finalized. New Life hosts a variety of post-adoption seminars to provide ongoing support and to help connect you with others who may be in similar stages.
2025 Post-Adoption Seminars
- Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 7:00pm-9:00pm – Topic TBD
- Tuesday, September 16, 2025, 7:00pm-9:00pm – Topic TBD
Past Post-Adoption Seminars
To view a recording of any of the past seminars listed below, contact our Post-Adoption Social Worker at the information at the bottom of this page.
In this seminar, our speaker, Rachael, introduced a trauma-informed parenting strategy called Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), which is a proven method for enriching the lives of at-risk, vulnerable children, adolescents, and their families. She discussed the effects of trauma, how positive experiences with loving caregivers can re-wire a child’s brain for lasting change, tools and strategies that can create emotional and physical safety for a child, and how to keep connection at the heart of the parent/child relationship.
All parties of adoption experience grief and loss, but the grief for birth parent is very unique. It is common for others to not understand this type of loss, but birth parents are not alone in experiencing it. Hear from a therapist about grief after adoption, then hear from a panel of birth moms share about their grief journey throughout the adoption process and beyond as well as what has been helpful for them.
Melissa Nichols, a therapist at the Family Attachment and Counseling Center shared about the importance of building attachment in adoptive families and how to navigate potential issues in attachment.
Adoptive Triad Panel
This seminar features a panel of all members of the adoption relationship: the adopted person, adoptive parents, and birth parents. You will hear the birth parent(s) share about their journey in making an adoption plan, the adoptive parent’s story about what led them to pursue adoption, and the adopted person’s experience in this unique relationship.
At New Life Adoptions, we see openness in adoption as a lifelong connection to one another. You are connected by your shared love for a child. Openness is fluid – your relationship and your contact may change over time as your lives change. The Inclusive Family Support Model (IFSM) is a helpful tool to help explain the different categories of openness. This model was conceived and authored by two adoptees: Angela Tucker, director of Post-Adoption Services at Amara Family Services and Dr. JaeRan Kim of the University of Washington Tacoma.
Openness in adoption has long been equated with contact, or how much direct interaction the parties have with one another. This model shows how everyone can and should have an open adoption, even if contact is paused, not possible, or non-existent. Most open adoption relationships fluctuate on this grid over time as the relationships change. We will share about both the benefits and challenges of this model and how it can relate to you.
We know therapy can be very beneficial in life and specifically on any step of the adoption journey. It can be an important piece of navigating adoption for adoptive parents, birth parents, and adopted children, adolescents and adults. Hear from therapist, Meagan Galbari, MA, LPCC, about why an adoption competent therapist matters, how to choose the right therapist, and the benefits of counseling at different stages of the adoption journey.
DNA testing is becoming more and more common in post-adoption. Many adopted adults and birth parents are finding each other through the use of DNA testing, whether on purpose or not. Hear from others who have experienced this process, what it was like to find birth family members, and what they would recommend to those considering this process.
Over time, there can be many changes to the open adoption relationship between an adoptive family and birth family. It can be difficult to navigate unexpected changes such as one party moving out of state, requests for more or less contact than originally discussed, or other life changes including additions to either family through birth, adoption, or marriage. At this seminar you will hear from others who have navigated some of these changes, how they handled these discussions, and tips for keeping a healthy open adoption over the years despite the bumps that may arise along the way.
At this seminar, a panel of birth parents and adopted persons shared about their search and reunion experience. They shared about why they chose to search, what that process was like, and how their relationship developed from there.
Interested in attending or viewing a post-adoption seminar?
Preregistration is required by contacting the Post-Adoption Social Worker.
612-746-5670
info@newlifeadoptionsmn.org
