Foster Care and Adoption Counseling

The foster care and adoption processes are complicated for everyone involved – parents, children currently in the home, and potentially adopted or fostered children. In order to create a safe and flourishing family system, you may want to work with a counselor throughout this process. In some cases, you’ll be required to work with professional therapists before you can begin the foster care or adoption process. Other families elect to do so to alleviate stress and establish a plan for smooth transition. Whatever the reason you decide to work with professional counselors during foster care or adoption, the Stokes Counseling Services team is here to help. We offer individual, couples, and family therapy sessions in our Naugatuck office, virtually utilizing telehealth software, and in the home for those families who are participants in our FAM Program.

There are many situations throughout every step of the foster care and adoption process where one or more members of the family may want to consider seeking professional counseling services, including:

• Prior to fostering or adopting children, many agencies require parents and/or children already in the home to receive evaluations.
• During the fostering and adoption process, parents and families may wish to work with professionals who can help them through the process of integrating a new family member and establishing a feeling of safety and permanence.
• After a fostered or adopted child joins the family, you may want to continue counseling to ensure the child feels safe and welcome in his or her new home and to develop a thriving family system.
• When a potential foster placement or adoption falls through, parents and other family members can struggle with their feelings of disappointment, hopelessness, and distress. Working with counselors throughout the process can help to offset some of the more extreme emotions and make it easier for families to process their disappointment and continue moving forward.
• When foster children are removed from the home in order to be returned to their families or permanently placed, the existing family systems need to change. Counselors can help families through this process.

The counseling methodologies and therapy plans utilized for families in the foster care and adoption process will vary dramatically based on individual situations. For Some, this may include individual and/or couples counseling sessions for foster/adoptive parents before, during, and after bringing home their new family member. Others may want to work with a professional counselor as a family. Whatever your goals, our professionals will partner with you and your family to create a plan to achieve them.

In addition to the above counselors, we have an entire team of dedicated clinicians who work with families as part of the FAM Program. This unique therapy program offers families the opportunity to work with counselors in their homes. FAM stands for Families Are Made, and this is the underlying principal of this program. Whether you and your family are adjusting the addition or a newly fostered or adopted child or you’re simply trying to create the safest, healthiest, most fulfilling family environment possible, working with the FAM Program team can help you to achieve your goals.