Adoptee Support
Search and
Reunion
Support Referral List
 Introduction from Alison
I had a happy, stable upbringing with my adoptive parents and felt far removed from the people I occasionally heard about who had "adoption issues." They were probably people who were unlucky in the adoptive parent department, or who were abused as kids or something. Not people fortunate enough to come from wonderful families like mine.
Then, when I was in my twenties, I decided to find my birth mother. And my world turned upside down. As a result of my decision to search, I was catapulted out of the 'me' I knew, and forced to deal with intense and complex emotions that I was ill equipped to absorb or understand. I look back on that time and am genuinely amazed that I managed to get through it without any kind of help from a trained professional in the field of adoption and re-union. The retrieval of my birth parents and my genetic history certainly answered a great many questions for me, and certainly helped me work out who I really am -- and who I am not. But without professional help from a counselor or support group familiar with the territory, the experience was more traumatic than it needed to be. I did try to get help at the beginning of my re-union, from a New York psychotherapist who found my case fascinating but later admitted that she had no training in the area. With the desire to help, but absolutely no grasp of the issues involved, she would smile empathetically and urge me to go home and have a chat with my inner child. Which didn't help at all. The first time I met or talked to anyone else who had been through a similar experience was six years after I met my birth mother. I attended a talk in Los Angeles which had been organized by a social worker. The room was filled with other adopted people. The talk was extraordinary. Feelings I'd had for years but had been unable to articulate or identify were being voiced and shared by all these other people. And they weren't crazy either. Some of them even came from happy homes, like me . . . Since then I have been fortunate enough to come across a number of superb counselors and organizations currently helping adopted people in re-union -- and also those who choose not to search, but find themselves dealing with recurring difficulties that may be adoption related. I'm not an expert in the field, I'm a writer, an actress and a comedian. But listed below are a few of the professional organizations currently helping adopted people, adoptive parents and birth parents understand themselves better -- and understand some of the painful issues they may be dealing with. If you have come across an organization or individual counselor that has been helpful to you, please send me an email with their details and we will do our best to include them on our list. Good luck to all of you in your search for your self. P.S. If you were adopted, you're in interesting company. Other adopted people include: Eleanor Roosevelt, Edgar Alan Poe, James Michener, Ted Danson, Debbi Harry, Steve Jobs (chap who started Apple Computers) Walt Whitman, Edward Albee, Marilyn Monroe, Alexander the Great, Nat King Cole, Newt Gingrich, Nancy Reagan, Art Linkletter, President Gerald Ford, Greg Louganis (diver) Pat Somerall (sports caster) Dave Thomas, Stuart Little, Superman, Harry Potter and of course Moses.
Photo Copyright ©Warren Westura
|
