As we work on leveling up our knowledge and skill with working with the adoption constellation, I believe some of the best learning comes through case presentation, discussion, and consultation.
Participants get to lead the content for this group. Bring any case you would like help with or just to listen and share. And, yes, we will talk about the various iterations for the Constellation Set-ups for Brainspotting with the Adoption Constellation as they fit for each case as well as a variety of other resources.
This is one of my absolute favorite groups, and I hope you can join us. This is an online group, although the scheduler that we use says it is in-person. I will be sending a meeting link and calendar invite to all participants. The scheduler allows me to get a consultation group agreement signed, and lets you securely enter your credit/debit card information. (Don't forget that this should be tax deductible and professional growth, but check with your local CPA to be sure). Just $60
On Your Feet Foundation's Create!Birthparent Arts Grant is an opportunity for birthparents to utilize their creative and artistic talents to allow for expression and healing, providing a medium to share feelings, emotions and thoughts as they experience their adoption journey.
Create! encourages projects that use the arts to allow for healing, growth, and advocacy in response to their adoption. Projects funded may include writing, music, performance and visual art.
Selection is based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:
Relevance of the birthparent’s idea and contribution to the adoption community.
Quality and creativity of the work or project submitted for review. Please be as detailed as possible.
Commitment to developing their work.
The impact of the project on the adoption community.
If you are a member of the adoption constellation, would you add a word or a few to this google form to help me write a blog for Adoption Knowledge Affiliates about why community and connection are so important for the adoption constellation?
Believe it or not by the time the next email goes out, some kids will already be back to school. Now is the time to make sure this information is getting into the hands of educators. This mini-course is my gift* to teachers and the adoption constellation in hopes of creating more supportive schools for everyone. While each individual and story are unique, this mini course provides the foundation to trauma-informed adoption competency for teachers, administrators, and parents communicating with teachers and administrators.
On this deeply personal episode, guest-host Madeline Mackinnon turns the mic toward regular host Patrick Armstrong to explore his identity journey as a Korean American adoptee, his reflections on community, parenthood, and healing through storytelling. With rare vulnerability, Patrick opens up about burnout, transformation, and his vision for a more collaborative, accountable, and whole world.
Zhen E (pronounced like Jenny) is a transnational transracial Korean Adoptee who was abducted through Holt in the 1970s to an all white family and community. She and her husband Robert (also white) are foodies and travelers and cat-parents to 4 cats and proud parents to Jordan and his wife Skyler and grandparents to granddaughter Jasmine Nari (3 years) and grandson Soren Eujin (3 weeks).
Zhen E is an adoptee advocate and has gone to Washington DC, LA, and the Iowa Legislatures to pass the Adoptee Citizenship Act. Zhen E has performed her pieces "Black Box: An Adoption Story Choreopoem" and other spoken word poetry about adoption at several play festivals, at KAAN and IKAA in the US and Seoul, South Korea.
The Green Room 42 in New York City will present a showcase of selected songs from For the Record(s) August 8 at 9:30 pm ET! If you're in or near the city, please join us. The cast is incredible, the musicians are Broadway national tour quality, the venue is located in Yotel off Times Square. If you prefer to watch from the comfort of your home, get some friends together and Livestream the performance. In-person (starting at $21.45 + fees) and Livestream ($19.99) tickets are now available through these links:
From Amazon: The history of adoption is rarely told from an adoptee’s perspective. Wellington remedies this gap by framing the chronicle of adoption in America using her own life story. She describes growing up in a family with which she had no biological connection, giving birth to her own biological children, and then enduring the death of her sister, who was also adopted. As she reckons with the pain and unanswered questions of her own experience, she explores broader issues surrounding adoption in the United States, including changing legal policies, sterilization and compulsory relinquishment programs, forced assimilation of babies of color and Indigenous babies adopted into white families, and other liabilities affecting women, mothers, and children. According to Wellington, US adoption practices in America are shrouded in secrecy, for they frequently cast shame on unmarried women, women struggling with fertility, and “illegitimate” babies and children. As the United States once again finds itself embroiled in heated disputes over women’s bodily autonomy—disputes in which adoption plays a central role—Wellington’s book offers a unique and much-needed frame of reference.
Rebecca Wellington carefully explores the history of ranking mothers by race, socioeconomic status, and made-up norms about who is fit to mother. Who Is a Worthy Mother? is a must-read for social workers and prospective adoptive parents.”—Nefertiti Austin, author of Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America
“Through her well-researched, historical scholarship of—among other topics she discusses—governmental policies designed to bring an end to Native American cultures and peoples, Wellington’s memoir-history challenges America’s belief that the only good mother is a white mother. An important read.”—Susan Harness, author of Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption “Artfully weaving memoir and history, Wellington speaks to broad questions of how privilege, race, protection, and worth shape our most intimate decisions about parenthood and family. This is a thoughtful examination, skillfully delivered, that brings the reader on a journey from personal reflection to sociopolitical analysis—a necessary journey for our time.”—Gretchen Sisson, author of Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood
“This book provides a much-needed historical perspective that exposes many uncomfortable truths about the motivations, policies, and practices that have shaped our cultural thoughts and beliefs about adoption, birth mothers, and adoptees. Everyone connected to adoption should read it.” —Gayle H. Swift, co-founder of Growing Intentional Families Together, LLC,
For more recommendations, check out my (affiliate) Amazon Storefront
Early Bird Registration Now
Early bird registration available through September
Since not all sources agree on some points, it is a good idea to read several. Below are just a few related to adoptees specifically.
Adoptees United’sCitizenship Clinic assists intercountry adopted people with US citizenship or immigration issues. The clinic’s services include legal screenings, consultation and advice about legal options, and legal representation to secure a Certificate of Citizenship or, if needed, a Certificate of Naturalization.
AFFCNY has put together two really thorough lists of resources. The Immigration Resources pictured below includes a listing of several legal resources and other information. The Citizenship Resource for Intercountry Adoptees resources is also full of very helpful links. They have also invited Greg Luce to be a Keynote for their May conference.
NAKASEC also has a 24/7 hotline, where you can call and receive live confidential assistance in English or Korean. If you or someone you love is confronted by police/ICE/CBP or has been detained, you can call 1 844 500 3222 for immediate support. For non-emergency calls, such as requesting help determining your immigration status, please contact legal@adoptees4justice.org.
Adoptee Processing Group
with Katy Perkins Coveney, LCSW-S
Open to adopted people age 21+, in the U.S.Mondays at 6:30p EST (5:30p CST), cost is $65 per session. Please let me know which ones you would like to sign up for. You don't have to plan all the way thru 2026, just listing them here to keep all in one place. If the majority can't make a date we can discuss in group whether you'd like to reschedule or cancel together. If you're interested in referring clients please let them know that they will be asked to meet with Katy virtually for up to 30 min to assess goodness of fit before their first meeting.
2025 9/8, 9/22, 10/6, 11/10, 11/24, 12/1, 12/8 2026 1/26, 2/9, 2/23, 3/9, 3/23, 4/13, 4/27, 5/11 Related dates: 10/20 (virtual meetup for folks attending the retreat)10/25, adoptee retreat day in Dallas TX area. Registration will be available soon.
Seeking Research Participants
Chinese International Transracial Adoptees
Anica Falcone-Juengert, a transracial, Chinese adoptee and student at Whittier College, is currently recruiting Chinese American adoptees to share their thoughts and opinions about family. Questions: afalcone@poets.whittier.edu
Racial & Adoption Microaggressions Impact on Transracial Adoptees of Color
From Molly Sawdy,clinical psychology doctoral candidate at Suffolk University: I identify as an international, Chinese transracial adoptee. I am recruiting participants for my dissertation study titled, A Mixed-Method Study Examining Stressors on Adult Transracial Adoptees of Color (TRAC) Mental Health [IRB #2250982-1].
Purpose of the Study: We are interested in better understanding how stressors such as racial microaggressions and adoption microaggressions affect the mental health of adult transracial adoptees of color. Although there is growing research on the experiences of adopted individuals, there are limited studies that center the mental health and wellness of transracial adoptees of color. We hope the information gathered from this study will be used to bolster the development of culturally responsive assessment tools and interventions, and to inform the development of resources and training to foster cultural humility for therapists providing services to transracial adoptees of color. We are hoping to recruit a target sample of 100 participants.
Eligibility Criteria:
(1) Age 18 or older, (2) Self-identifying as a transracial adoptee (i.e., belonging to a different racial category of adoptive parent(s)), (3) Identify as a person of color, and (4) Internationally adopted to or domestically adopted in the United States.
If you meet the above criteria, please consider taking the eligibility survey: https://bit.ly/TRACMH
Participants who complete the online survey will have the opportunity to: (1) enroll in a raffle to win 1 of 20, $25 gift cards, and (2) participate in a virtual focus group aimed to better understand experiences of microaggressions for adult transracial adoptees of color.
Preliminary Exploration into Adoption Reunions
Using the Preliminary Exploration into Adoption Reunions Survey, our goal is to gather information regarding such adoption reunion topics as; how and if individuals prepare for being in reunion, how individuals respond to being in reunion, how reunions are enabled, and topics related to transnational or transracial adoptees, etc.
Hrapczynski, K. M., & Willis, B. (2025). Who’s Around (and Who’s Not)? Transracial Adoptee Racial-Ethnic Identity in Context. Adoption Quarterly, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2025.2533290
ABSTRACT
Transracial adoptees’ racial-ethnic sense of self may be shaped by interactions with other people of color within and outside of the home. Fifty-one transracial adoptive parent-adolescent dyads completed an online survey to assess sibling family constellations based on race, the racial diversity of several contexts and relationships in which adolescents interact, and adolescent racial-ethnic identity. Transracial adoptees varied in their exposure to people who look like them, with some reporting exposure to mostly white and others reporting more ethnically diverse experiences. The study suggests that adoptees have healthier racial-ethnic identity when raised in families with at least one sibling of color and when engaged in more multicultural experiences. It further novelly offers racial mirroring as theoretically bound to Symbolic Interactionism as a potential mechanism for understanding transracial adoptee racial-ethnic identity development in context.
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Kotha, Rakesh, Rajeshwari AV, Suresh Yadav, and Rajender Puri. 2025. “Nonaccidental Injuries in Adopted Children: A Systematic Review”. Asian Journal of Pediatric Research 15 (7):6-14. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajpr/2025/v15i7461. (full text)
ABSTRACT
Nonaccidental injuries (NAI) and child abuse in adopted children are pressing public health issues, shaped by pre-adoption adversities and post-adoption stressors. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on NAI prevalence, risk factors, screening tools, and perpetrator patterns in adopted children under 16. We searched PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE on October 15, 2024, using terms like “nonaccidental injuries,” “child abuse,” and “adoption,” yielding 2,847 studies from 1990–2025. Twelve studies (case series, case reports, prospective/retrospective) met inclusion criteria. Neglect (70%) and physical abuse (45%) were predominant, with fractures (70%, 40% transverse, 35% skull) and bruises (45%) most common, linked to institutional neglect, socioeconomic challenges, and transracial adoption. Parents/caregivers were frequent perpetrators,
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Kim, A. Y., & Baden, A. L. (2025). Measuring Cultural Exploration: Development of the Reculturative Activities Scale for Adopted Individuals. Adoption Quarterly, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2025.2527052
ABSTRACT
Transracially and transnationally adopted individuals lose their birth culture as they assimilate to the culture of their adoptive families. As adults, adopted individuals often seek out information, experiences, and community related to their birth culture, a process known as reculturation (Baden et al.). While research lends support for reculturation as a process, work examining the psychological processes associated with reculturation has been limited by the absence of an easy to use measure. Therefore, we developed a new measure of reculturation—the reculturative activities scale. Working with a sample of adult adopted individuals (n = 226), we examined the scale’s psychometric properties. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a three-factor solution, with dimensions of experiential education (α = .90), birth culture immersion (α = .71), and adoptee socialization (α = .76). We provide preliminary evidence for validity. We conclude with discussion of research applications.
On-Demand Webinar Replay
Events to Note
For Educators & Therapists February 16-17 Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools online conference by ATN (proposals accepted through July 15)
