| Abstract: | Addresses issues important to clinicians working with adoptees by reviewing the findings that have been articulated in the literature, and more specifically, by illustrating how these findings may affect therapy with an adoptee. Pertinent areas for adoptees include issues of loss, separation, abandonment, trust, betrayal, rejection, worth, and identity. Additionally, challenges inherent in working with adoptees for individual therapists and the profession at large are also briefly addressed. An object-relations theoretical perspective is used, and 1 case example of an adult female who was abandoned as a 7-mo-old infant and later adopted is followed throughout the article. The author notes that work with adoptees can be hard. Human relationships are fragile, and the existence of an adoptee threatens our most revered bond, that of a mother (or parent) and child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
