Integrating adopted, foster, or pre-adoptive children who have attachment disruptions and early trauma into an established family presents unique challenges. Failure may result in a disrupted placement, a dissolved adoption, or out of home treatment for the child struggling to become part of a permanent family. Many family therapy models focus on the family as a system while avoiding the individual’s trauma history that hinders the ability to form healthy relationships. Focus is often on how the family brings about or allows “dysfunction” to continue, which negates the health of the foster or adoptive family prior to the child entering that system. In addition, traditional therapeutic services tend to focus on the family “learning to manage” behaviors rather than addressing the underlying issues. Behavioral approaches may not result in permanent change, healthy relationships, or contribute to strong attachments enhancing permanency for the child.
Learn about a new, state funded, in-home team delivered service that is heavily invested in supporting the success of the “forever family.” This service includes assessments, psycho-educational sessions to explain the impact of trauma and resulting trauma disrupted competencies, linking behaviors to trauma history, teaching and application of specialized parenting skills, using attachment building interventions, and arranging sessions for trauma resolution. To further success, discharge planning encourages links to informal and formal supports such as; specialized outpatient providers, parenting support groups, state funded Post-Permanency services (when available), and respite providers.