I am a qualified Psychotherapist & Supervisor. I worked in Barnardos Post Adoption Service as a volunteer counsellor and have extended experience in working with birth mothers.
I provide general support, short and long-term Counselling & Psychotherapy for birthmothers, birthfathers and birth siblings.
Birth mothers
The bonding process for the birth mother, who carried the baby inside her during pregnancy and experienced the miracle of birth with this baby, had not been previously acknowledged in society at large or by the professionals working in adoption and mental health.
Adoption relinquishment involves a grief process not unlike other types of grief such as death or separation. Sometimes the secrecy, shame, guilt, self-blame, feelings of selfishness and loss leave scars on birth mothers' self-esteem. Birth parents may struggle as they re-evaluate their decisions later in life. Birth parents might feel incapable of making decisions, feel unlovable, or feel unable to handle having another child.
At such moments, they need to realize that they made the decision at a particular time and place, perhaps as a vulnerable teenager without adult skills or resources. Restoring self-esteem is an ongoing process.
How I work
I believe that thinking & talking about the concerns you have with a trained psychotherapist can help you to start address those general concerns, confusing emotions or anxieties related to the adoption, tracing and reunion.
My primary aim is to ensure a
safe and strictly confidential environment
for all my clients enabling them to explore, recognize and express distressing feelings, thoughts, memories and anxieties.
Counselling & Psychotherapy is governed by a strict professional code of ethics, and is respectful of all cultures, orientations and beliefs.
