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.
2026 1/26, 2/9, 2/23, 3/9, 3/23, 4/13, 4/27, 5/11
Reach out to Katy at (972) 895-8376 or admin@findselfcounseling.com
We the Experts: The Juvenile Justice System and Out-of-Home Placements
Saturday, December 13th
10am-12pm PT
Often missing from mainstream conversations is how these types of placements impact an adoptee’s identity and sense of belonging well into adulthood.
Join us as we make space for this important discussion.
Premiere Film Screening
Un-M-Othered is Dr. Liz DeBetta’s groundbreaking solo show about the lived experience of adoption — the fragmentation, the longing, the rage, the unraveling — and the courageous journey back to the self that was silenced. WINNER: Best Autobiographical Show (2022), United Solo — the world’s largest solo theatre festival
Dr. Abby Hasberry and I would like to share with you the upcoming Intro (because you never fully arrive) to Adoption Competency training that we are doing which is open to all therapists and students.
✨ The adoption constellation deserves access to more therapists with more knowledge and understanding. We believe all therapists are working with the adoption constellation, and we all have more to learn.
💲 Discounts are available for provisionally licensed professionals, students, as well as an access & inclusion rate, which is accessible to all adoptees and birth parents. We want everyone who wants to be there to be able to be!
✅ 14 CE hours are included through Practice Excellence, NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7601 or through academic sponsorship by the University of Georgia School of Social Work as required by Rule 135-B under the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists.
This training will include:
- adoption competency information,
- working with all members of the adoption constellation & those impacted by foster care,
- working with children, adults, & families,
- special populations within the adoption population,
- racism in adoption & foster care,
- conceptualization, diagnosis, goals, and modalities for adoption therapy
- research, history, and more
This link is for days 1&2 and 14 CE hours: https://brooke-randolph.com/consultation-training/adoption-competency-training/
An optional 3rd day for Brainspotting trained therapists is also available for 21 total CEs: https://brooke-randolph.com/consultation-training/brainspotting-training/brainspotting-with-adoption-specialty-training/
Swedish Korean Adoptees Network
DOKAD Archive
Adoptee Rights Law
Dawn J. Post
Holiday Shopping Inspiration
Liberty Lost
In Evangelical homes across the United States, sex outside of marriage is a sin against God. So, when Abbi becomes pregnant at 16, her devout parents hide her away at the Liberty Godparent Home, a little-known facility for pregnant teens on the campus of Liberty University. The Home says it helps girls decide what comes next – whether that’s parenting their babies or placing them for adoption. But inside the facility, the girls hear a different message: God wants their babies to go to more “deserving” Christian couples. Some girls will find the strength to fight back. Others will have no choice but to give in. And some, like Abbi, will turn their grief into resistance – and take a stand against the system before more mothers lose their children to adoptions they never wanted.
The Adoption Journey Podcast
In this conversation, Dr. Abby Hasberry discusses her experiences with adoption, highlighting the coercive nature of the decision-making process and the lack of support she received after relinquishing her child. She reflects on the illusion of choice she felt and the absence of practical planning for her future post-adoption.
From The Kitchen Table
Unpacking Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission's recently-released report on Human Rights Violations in Intercountry Adoption.
Adoption The Making of Me
I want to highlight a book with each newsletter, so we can all continue to grow and learn. AD
Memoirs are such a great way to hear more experiences, so I believe they are for us as much as they are for our clients. I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time: A Memoir of Discovering Family through Genetic Genealogy is as fun a read as you would imagine. The author tells about his late discovery NPE as his mother shut off the vacuum and turned his world upside down at age 18 by telling him, “Craig is not your real dad.” Michael's journey can give a lot of insight into the search process.
From Amazon: Two years later Michael began the search for his biological father. Wading through years of untruths and talking to people who were not forthcoming, Michael spent the next twenty-five years following clues and leads, all resulting in more questions and dead end roads. Finally, as with many adoptees, science caught up with the impossible and Michael was able to use a home DNA test to uncover the identity of his biological father. He quickly realized that the answer he had searched for came with many consequences. Finding his biological father was not the end of his journey, like he had hoped. Instead, he discovered that it was just the beginning.
I Had My Underwear On the Entire Time is a book about secrets. It's the story about a forty-five-year-old mystery that gets unearthed and the aftermath that follows. This book is for those who carry secrets and also for those who are the keepers of secrets. It is also for the few who seek answers to their own mysteries. I Had My Underwear On The Entire Time can serve as a guide to those on a quest and it showcases the author's successes and missteps along the way. This book may motivate people who find themselves in a similar situation and may prove that they are not alone.
Read for free with Kindle Unlimited
For more recommendations, check out my (affiliate) Amazon Storefront
Online Brainspotting Phase 1 Training
Un-M-Othered Promo
Liz DeBetta
Watch here
Adoptees For Justice has been working to secure gubernatorial pardons from California’s Governor Newsom for Emily and Judy, both longtime California residents whose cases are now at a critical juncture. Adopted by American parents as children, their citizenship was never secured due to systemic oversight. Now, after more than 50 years of calling California home, they face the risk of detention and deportation.
This situation has now become extremely urgent and time sensitive. Emily had an ICE check-in on 10/8. At this check-in she was directed to return back to the ICE office on 12/12 with either an open motion to terminate the deportation order OR a plane ticket to self-deport to Korea within 2 weeks of 12/12. Her best chance to be able to open a motion to terminate the order is if she has a pardon from Governor Newsom. If he does not pardon her, she will be deported.
Both Emily and Judy have rebuilt their lives and become trusted advocates within the adoptee community. Their stories reflect a larger, ongoing crisis affecting intercountry adoptees who were legally adopted but remain without citizenship due to longstanding policy gaps. Their pardon applications and full documentation have been submitted, but time is not on our side. If you have not yet emailed Gov Newsom I encourage you to do so right away. Adoptees For Justice has provided an outreach toolkit here: https://nakasecche-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/rachel_nakasec_org/EZleu7llW_FGtqXcV-gqk7ABgOFxyFMwtC-LDfrvsWYS8A?rtime=rTJEB5YY3kg
Indian Adoptees: Call for Submissions
MAiDEn INDIA
It is time to join our brothers and sisters in the collective healing power of writing, and create the first Indian adoptee anthology
Deadline: March 15, 2026. Finalists will hear from us approximately three months later and we will work with you to make our pieces fit together.
Who can submit? Anybody adopted from India (transracially, same race, transnationally, or within country).
What type of writing should I submit? We are accepting anything in the creative nonfiction genre that falls within our four main themes of fate, death, blood, and hunger. You may interpret any of these words as you wish; just choose one. Get raw and bring the emotion.
Any length requirements? No-ish. Your submission could be as short as a paragraph or as long as would be appropriate for an anthology. Poetry/lyrics are welcome. We may cut for length if needed.
What is your goal with this anthology? We are hoping to use this anthology to raise awareness and funds for causes that benefit the Indian adoptee diaspora. In a perfect world, this anthology will be picked up by a regular publisher (vs self-publishing), but we will cross that bridge later. We will keep everybody informed before any decisions are made.
Ready to submit?Visit our website (maidenindiafilm.wordpress.com) and submit your piece using our form
Questons? Email maidenindiafilm@gmail.com
Immigration Resources
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.
Key features of the app include:
- One-click emergency alerts via SMS to pre-selected contacts
- Personalized emergency plans for childcare, medical needs, legal support, and more
- Option to share key information with National Immigration Legal Response Alliance (NILRA) if faced with arrest, a national network of pro bono immigration attorneys
- Currently available in six languages: English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Haitian Kreyol, and French
Unlike paper or PDF-based emergency plans, ReadyNow! is built for real-time response. If users have a run-in with ICE, they simply press the big red alert button and ReadyNow! will send out those emergency messages via SMS to pre-assigned contacts. All data is encrypted, stored only on the user’s device, not on the Cloud, and deleted after an alert is sent—preventing access by ICE if the phone is seized.
Adoptees United’s Citizenship 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.
please click on image to enlarge
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.
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/know-your-rights-4-immigrants/id6740367633
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nakasec.chunk&hl=en_US
The Ties Program
Emergency Hotline:
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.
Are you an Asian man or masculine-identifying Asian living in the US?
Are you between the ages of 18-45?
Your insights will help us better understand the needs, interests, experiences, and perspectives of men + masc folx in our community. By taking a few minutes to fill out this survey, you’ll help guide our work, shape our programs and services, and ensure your voice is heard.
AND as our way of saying thank you, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a $50 gift card.
TAKE THE SURVEY
Seeking Research Participants
Estrangement Research
Kim, J., Branco, S. F., & Newton, G. (2025). Exploring Transracial Adoptees’ Experiences of Developing Adoption Consciousness. Adoption Quarterly, 1–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926755.2025.2583526
ABSTRACT
The Adoptee Consciousness Model (ACM) describes the ways adoptees make sense of and/or experience adoption. Informed by critical consciousness theories, the ACM includes five touchstones that describe adoptees’ understanding of their adoption: (1) status quo, (2) rupture, (3) dissonance, (4) expansiveness, and (5) agency. Three focus groups (n = 23) were conducted to answer the question: How do transracially adopted persons experience the adoptee consciousness touchstones? The researchers applied a directed qualitative content analysis methodology to support and confirm the model. Participants described their processes of coming to critical adoption consciousness; experiences that primed them for critical reflection, the information that created a sense of disequilibrium (rupture events), ways they revised frames of reference (through dissonance and expansiveness), and developing personal and collective agency and empowerment. Based on participant’s data, the original touchstone of forgiveness and activism was revised to agency to more accurately reflect participants’ articulation of the touchstone. Understanding the ACM has implications for adoptees’ mental health and identity development.
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Cawayu, A., & Clemente-Martínez, C. K. (2025). Complicating the Search Imperative in Transnational Adoption: An Anthropological Analysis of Non-Searching Transnational Adoptees in Belgium and Spain. Genealogy, 9(4), 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy9040124 (full text)
ABSTRACT
In critical adoption scholarship, significant attention has been devoted to the searching and returning transnational adoptee, while those who opt not to search altogether remain largely overlooked. This article addresses this gap by examining the experiences of transnational adoptees who, despite being raised in the 1990s and 2000s amid increasing openness about origins and adoption, choose not to search. Drawing on two anthropological studies with Bolivian adoptees in Belgium and Nepali adoptees in Spain, the article explores how agency and choice are shaped in relation to the decision not to search. It further examines how socio-political, cultural, and historical legacies—such as the enduring secrecy surrounding adoption and the privileging of closed familial models—have shaped adoptees’ convictions toward their origins, including the decision not to search. Foregrounding the perspectives of non-searching adoptees reveals that their position is not merely oppositional to that of the searching adoptee but rather emerges from the very same structural conditions within the adoption system—namely, a system built on silence, erasure, and restrictive notions of belonging.
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Julia L. Small, Kasia Dillon, Jade H. Wexler, Scott Hebert, Philip Day, Elaine Schulte and Heather ForkeyThe Annals of Family Medicine November 2025, 23 (6) 488-499; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.240595 (full text)
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE There is limited literature and guidance on the care of adopted patients in the medical setting beyond childhood. We examined the health care challenges faced by adults who were adopted as children and the perceived impact on the patient-clinician relationship.
METHODS We administered a mixed-methods online survey to US adult adoptees examining perception of how adoptee status impacts their health care interactions. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and with a multivariate logistic regression model to assess associations between adoption-related health care experiences and care-seeking behaviors. Qualitative data were analyzed and organized thematically into 5 major themes.
RESULTS Analyses were based on 204 adults adopted in childhood. The majority reported that their medical professionals had gaps in their knowledge about adoption, especially regarding how limited family medical history can contribute to negative health outcomes. Most participants perceived multiple distinct types of adoption-related discrimination by clinicians. Those who experienced these negative interactions sometimes or more often had greater than 7 times the adjusted odds of delaying care or changing clinicians when compared with adoptees who experienced this discrimination rarely or not at all.
CONCLUSIONS In this exploratory study, we found that adoptees perceive medical professionals’ lack of knowledge of the health implications of adoption as detrimental to their care and as undermining the patient-clinician relationship. Our findings suggest that adoption is both an experience and a potential identity with health implications that clinicians should be prepared to recognize and address.
If you are near Indianapolis and curious...
Brainspotting is one of the modalities that fits what I think is needed for competent Adoption Therapy
On-Demand Webinar Replay
Events to Note
For Educators & Therapists
February 16-17 Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools online conference by ATN
June 26-29 Creating Trauma Sensitive Schools conference by ATN, Dallas
For Therapists
February 11-12 Adoption Therapy: an introduction to competency by Abby Hasberry and Brooke Randolph
February 13 Setting up Brainspotting with the Adoption Constellation by Brooke Randolph
For Therapists & Parents
April 9-11 ATTACh conference, San Antonio
June 24-26 NCFA conference, Washington DC (proposals accepted through September)
First Thursdays PDA 101
For Foster/Adoptive Parents
December 9 Adoption-Literate Parenting Tools by Cam Lee Smalls
Monthly meetings Parenting through Disconnection by BPAR
Every other Sunday (additional groups to be scheduled) Adoption/Foster + PDA Support Group by PDANA
Wednesday’s 1:30 PST Zoom Support Group from Fostering Unity
Wednesday’s 6:30 EST Weekly Parent Self-Care from AFFCNY
3rd Mondays Adoptive & Foster Parent Peer Support Group by Adoption Knowledge Affiliates
3rd Tuesdays Helping Children Heal from Sexual Abuse from AFFCNY
3rd Thursdays Transracial Adoptive Parent Support Group by Adoption Network Cleveland and Transracial Journeys
3rd Friday’s Single Parent Support Circle from AFFCNY
Fourth Wednesday’s Parents of Young (ages 4-7) Adoptees Group online from Boston Post Adoption Resources
Monthly Parents of Kids (ages 8-10) Adoptee Group online from Boston Post Adoption Resources
Monthly Parents of Teen Adoptees Group online from Boston Post Adoption Resources
Monthly Dad Squad online peer support from AFFCNY
Monthly Single Parents of Adoptees Group online from Boston Post Adoption Resources
in person trainings available from Adoption Network Cleveland
Monthly Foster the Family Support Group meetings live in more than 20 cities
For the Constellation
December 13 We The Experts: Adoptees Who Experienced the Juvenile Justice System by Adoption Mosaic
June 25-27 Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture Conference, Leeds, UK
Mondays Better Together Group by Adoption Mosaic
Every Tuesday Addiction & Adoption Constellation Support Group by Celia Center
Every Friday National Association of Adoptees and Parents Happy Hour
1st Tuesdays DNA Discovery Support Group by Adoption Network Cleveland
2nd Sundays Constellation group by CUB
2nd Thursdays DNA Discoveries Peer Group by Adoption Knowledge Affiliates
Third Thursdays online Search and Reunion Group by Boston Post Adoption Resources
For Children & Teens
Every other Thursday Teen Adopt Connect support group with Lesli Johnson and Angela Gee
1st Tuesdays Adoptee Group for Kids Ages 8-10 (online) from Boston Post Adoption Resources
2nd Tuesdays Tween Adoptee Group for Ages 11-12 (online) from Boston Post Adoption Resources
3rd Tuesdays Teen Adoptee Group age 13-15 (online) from Boston Post Adoption Resources
4th Tuesday’s Teen Adoptee Group age 16-18 (online) from Bost Post Adoption Resources
Virtual AdopTween meetings
For Adoptees
December 7 Not All Parts Get Adopted: An IFS Zoom Workshop for People Who Were Adopted
December 12 BIPOC + INTERNATIONAL Adoptee Check-In by Adoptee Healing Collective
Periodic Mondays Adoptee Processing Group with Katy Perkins Coveney
1st Mondays In-person Adoptee Peer Support Group by AKA, South Austin
1st Monday’s Adult Adoptee Group (online) from Boston Post Adoption Resources
1st Thursday Estrangement Peer Support Group by AKA
1st Thursday Adoptee Support Group with Marie Dolfi
1st Friday Adoptee Peer Support Group by AKA
2nd Monday In-person Women Adoptees Peer Support Group by AKA, North Austin
2nd Tuesdays Transnational Adoptee Support Group by Adoption Network Cleveland
2nd & 4th Fridays By Us For Us Young Adults Adoptees of Color Community Connections with Angela Gee and Robyn Park
Every other Tuesday Adoptee Paths to Recovery addiction support group by NAAP
Bimonthly LGBTQ Adult Adoptee Support Group by Boston Post Adoption Resources
Bimonthly People of Color Adult Adoptee Support Group by Boston Post Adoption Resources
3rd Wednesdays Men’s Adoptee Peer Support Group by Adoption Knowledge Affiliates
3rd Wednesdays Adult Adoptee Only Support Group by Celia Center
4th Tuesdays Intersecting Identities: Adopted persons who are (or who identify as) Autistic, ADHD, and/or otherwise neurodivergent by Jenna Cacciola & Jodi Moore
4th Thursdays Multicultural Adoptee Women’s Peer Support Group by Adoption Knowledge Affiliates
Final Tuesdays Women Adoptee Peer Support Group by Adoption Knowledge Affiliates
Final Thursdays Adoptees United community talk
Monthly College/University Adoptee Virtual Group details through DM
Enneagram for Adoptees virtual group for ages 25+ by Adoption Connection
Adoptees Connect groups can be found globally
For Birth Parents
18th of each month Birth First Parents Only Support Group by Celia Center
1st Tuesdays Birthmoms Connect support call from On Your Feet Foundation
1st Wednesdays Birth Mother Support Group by Adoption Network Cleveland
2nd Tuesdays Birth/First Parent Peer Support Group by Adoption Knowledge Affiliates
2nd Thursdays Birthmoms Connect support call from On Your Feet Foundation
3rd Wednesdays Navigating Closed/Reunion Adoption support call from On Your Feet Foundation
3rd Saturday CUB Support Group via Zoom
3rd Sunday CUB Monthly Writer’s Group
4th Mondays Birth/First Parent Peer Support Group by Adoption Knowledge Affiliates
4th Tuesdays Birthmoms Connect support call from On Your Feet Foundation
On Your Feet Foundation has monthly support calls available
Concerned United Birthparents message boards
Thank you for your commitment to practicing excellence!
Brooke Randolph, LMHC, LIMHP, LPC, LPCC-S
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