Conference Session & Workshop Descriptions

*Content subject to change and all times listed are in US CentralTime

Friday November 8, 2024
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Keynote Speaker, JaeRan Kim, Ph.D., MSW, (she/hers)
9:30 - 11:15 am
CEUs: 1.75 Total for LMSWs, LPCs, LMFTs

Reinterpreting the story you imagined yourself living: Adoptee identity and critical consciousness
When adoptees begin to delve into their adoptee identity and question the dominant narratives society promotes about adoption, we must, as Gloriza Anzaldúa writes, "reinterpret the story you imagined yourself living." What frameworks can help us as we undertake this journey of coming to consciousness as individual adoptees as well as the broader adoptee community? How are we socialized to accept the dominant cultural narratives? And how can we support each adoptee's unique process of identity and critical consciousness development?

 Session 1  11:30 - 1:00 pm
CEUs: 1.5 Total for LMSWs, LPCs, LMFTs

A. Unpacking the Life of an Adoption Educator (Who is an Adoptee)
This session delves into personal narratives, challenges, and triumphs, highlighting how lived experiences shape educational approaches and advocacy in the adoption community. Goals: Share personal adoption narratives, Discuss the intersection of personal and professional roles, Highlight the impact of lived experiences on adoption education

B. Humanistic Sand Tray Therapy for the Adoption Triad
This presentation will highlight Humanistic Sand Tray Therapy as an evidenced based modality that provides a safe therapeutic medium for processing & healing. The presenter will discuss the benefits and appropriate application of Humanistic Sand Tray therapy for each member of the adoption triad.

C.  How the Story Heals the Storyteller: Narrative therapy and adoption
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Session 2  1:15 - 2:45 pm
CEUs: 1.5 Total for LMSWs, LPCs, LMFTs

A. Counternarrative: The Real Effects of Search and Reunion and How Adult Adoptees Can Prepare
Whether it’s a DNA test or a private investigator, there are many ways adoptees can search for their birth families. However, the process can range from excitement to exhaustion, and search and reunion doesn’t come with a guidebook. What should adoptees do when they find their birth families? Katherin and Tarcia will briefly share the methods they intentionally and unintentionally used to locate their biological families, such as an adoption agency, a commercial DNA test, and a private investigator. They will outline the process and how they navigated the emotions associated with each method. ​

B. Searching Through Story: Freedom, Fantasy & the Adoptee Imagination
In my presentation, I will take the participants through my inner recollected thoughts and stories starting with those I created as a pre-literate child, that were recorded by my adoptive parents and illustrated by me until I learned to write myself. From those early stories, through adoption-themed plays that were produced in my adulthood, I will share the rich tapestry of imagination of the adopted person and demonstrate that even though an adoptee might not be literally reflecting on adoption itself, curiosity, deep inquisition and imagination reveal a searching for identity, belonging, connection and for what’s real. 

C. Redefining the Adoptee Experience: A Journey of Truth, Trust, and Transparency"
Bethany recognized early on the significance of community, storytelling, and connecting adoptees in their quest for identity and belonging. Join her in this insightful session as she shares her journey and explores the pivotal role of community and resources in supporting adoptees. This session aims to underscore the vital role of community and storytelling in the adoption experience. Bethany's insights highlight how these elements can empower adoptees, providing them with the tools and connections needed for their journey towards self-discovery and a sense of belonging. Bethany encourages participants to join this session prepared to engage in profound dialogue and discover how embracing relationships rooted in truth, trust, and transparency can cultivate a profound sense of belonging and empowerment. 

Session 3  3:00 - 4:30 pm
CEUs: 1.5 Total for LMSWs, LPCs, LMFTs

A. The Truth About Open Adoption: What I Wish I Had Known at the Start of My Open Adoption Journey 
Open Adoption can seem like a daunting proposition for both adoptive parents and birth parents. With three decades of lived experience through two domestic infant open adoptions, adoptive mom Sexton shares some unexpected insights about her adopted children, their birth parents and adoptive parents. Learn how keeping the adopted child as the North Star in the relationships helped guide decisions. Take away the importance of how an adopted child benefits greatly by knowing and connecting with their biological family when it is safe and possible.

B. Counternarratives in Adoption Literatures: Rhetoric, Connection, Archives
This panel features three academic scholars working on adoption in literary and cultural production. Each paper addresses the centrality of representation in reworking general understandings of adoption, exploring the transformative potential of counternarratives in the adoption universe. Sarah Hae-In Idzik will present from her research synthesizing and analyzing adoptee rhetorics from written memoirs/autobiographies. Her paper will draw out major themes and show how they respond to dominant/mainstream rhetorics about transnational, transracial adoption. Marianne Novy's paper, "Narratives of Adoptee Memoirs," explores how adoptee memoir narratives tend to move toward connection, counteracting experiences of grief and loss. Kelly M. Rich turns to the archive as a key site for investigating the epistemology of the transnational adoptee. Adoptees are made through documents: case files, brochures, applications, home studies, and certificates that render them into adoptable subjects. ​

C. Identity formation in Adoptees
This session will incorporate training and research related to the development of Adoptees as it relates to Identity formation and what it takes to successfully integrate Identity in a healthy way.

Session 4  4:45 - 5:15 pm
CEUs: 1.5 Total for LMSWs, LPCs, LMFTs

A. Identity and Heritage: reclaiming myself and my identity through my cultural heritage and my ancestral roots
This presentation explores my personal journey as a transracial adoptee rediscovering myself and my identity through reconnecting with my cultural heritage. I will begin by defining transracial adoption and discussing the challenges faced by transracial adoptees. Sharing my own experiences, I will illustrate the struggles with assimilation to adoptive parents' culture, loss of birth culture, issues of self-perception and belonging that led me to seek a deeper understanding of my heritage. I will detail the steps I took to explore my cultural background, including research, travel, creative expression and engaging with cultural traditions. I will discuss the profound impact these actions have had on my sense of identity and personal growth. Finally, I will reflect on how integrating my cultural heritage has enriched my life and emphasised that this journey of self-discovery is ongoing.
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B. Reframing Adoptee Struggles into Superpowers
The seven core issues in adoption are often perceived as barriers to an adoptee’s ability to be healthy and successful. But what if we viewed these issues – loss, rejection, guilt/shame, grief, identity, intimacy, and control – on a spectrum that ranges from struggle to strength? Join Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker as she guides you into the extraordinary and often overlooked world of adoptee strengths and superpowers. Learn to support your natural tendencies, embrace your unique methods for problem-solving and navigating relationships, and empower yourself to feel proud of the remarkable ways in which you contribute to the world.

C. Reunion Status: It's Complicated
Even the best reunion with biological family is still complicated. Adoptees face many challenges in reunion with both our biological and adoptive families. There are strategies that both adoptees, adoptive family, and bio family can do to make the best of reunion. This presentation will delve into these strategies using my own reunion narrative and others I've heard from fellow adoptees that have given me permission to share their stories. The ultimate goal is to give tools to adoptees to manage reunion while also giving bio and adoptive family members tools to support the adoptee in this process.

Therapeutic Workshops  6:30 - 8:00 pm

A. The Speculative Truth: A Writing Lab For Adoptees
In this generative writing lab, we will conduct experiments to explore our realities, emotions, and ourselves. Participants are encouraged to free their stories from time, genre, and 'typical' adoption narratives. Playing with prompts and speculative elements gives us the power to tell our weird, glorious truths any way we want. All levels of writers, including complete beginners, are welcome.

B. Taking Back the Narrative and Migrating Toward Wholeness©: A Workshop for Reclaiming Ourselves and Our Stories
What is the story you were told about being adopted? When was the first time you questioned it? What would it be like to rewrite the narrative and reclaim yourself to feel more connected and whole? Adoptees need to give ourselves permission to question and reject the dominant narratives that make us the object rather than the subject of the story. Granting ourselves permission to explore our origin stories and rewrite them as adults helps us to become more integrated by allowing us to connect to the parts of ourselves that have been denied by the stories that were given to us as children. Utilizing the Migrating Toward Wholeness© method of expressive writing to heal participants will discover how to re-narrativize themselves through telling a new story about themselves and their origins. Using a trauma-informed approach participants will be guided through writing activities and leave with tools to begin to think about writing as a generative process that can be used to find clarity, understand the effects of trauma, and promote personal growth that helps to shift internal narratives.

C. Acknowledging, Releasing, Transforming and Becoming
Adoptees, certified coaches and therapists discuss their own narratives, how they have been able to acknowledge the adoption trauma; strategies that helped them start to release the despair, abandonment and attachment issues including the array of grief emotions of sadness, loss, anger. They share how they are able to find a joyful life through transforming and reframing their pain and anger to move through the next layer of hope and healing; to BECOMING the resilient adoptee that knows how to honor the trauma, yet can move through the acknowledging and the releasing in a timely way so you can move into transforming, healing practices that are critical to claiming that new narrative. Participants can begin to establish the foundation for becoming who they are now and learn what support is readily available. They can hear how some of us get “stuck” in a stage longer than may be necessary, and the panelists will share their strategies for self-awareness and self-management. Learning within a like-minded community that is a safe space to explore, at any stage of this process, allows for the healing work to begin.

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Saturday November 9, 2024

Keynote Speaker, Astrid Castro, (she/her/hers)
10:15 - 12:00 pm
CEUs: 1.75 Total for LMSWs, LPCs, LMFTs

Existing in the "Both/And" While Learning the Truth
At one point or another in our lives, as adoptees, we will explore what we had to lose to be
adopted. During this time of exploration many adoptees will also learn the dark side of adoption history and most likely will be at a loss of how to exist in the both/and. "I love who I am AND I
don't love what I had to go through to get here". Learn how Astrid shifted the direction of her work. as an industry leader in adoption at the age of 40 years old, two decades after starting her work in adoptions and learning that corruption was how it all began.  ​

 Session 5  12:15 - 1:45 pm
CEUs: 1.5 Total for LMSWs, LPCs, LMFTs

A. Finding Hope after Systemic Bias toward Adoptees- Our Story
This will be an interactive presentation exploring areas of bias and harm toward adoptees, focusing on those that have a significant trauma history. Some of these systems and areas include education, the therapeutic milieu, juvenile justice, adult corrections and racism. In recognizing those harmful narratives and experiences, one can begin to work towards healing. Themes from the book "Loving Desmond" will be explored with a focus on reconnection after loss.

B. Special Considerations on Sexuality, Sex Education, and Relationships for Adoptees
Adoptees face unique considerations regarding sex and relationships that are often overlooked in traditional sex education. Adoptive and foster parents, as well as adoption professionals, may lack the necessary knowledge, resources, and openness to provide informed and nonjudgmental support for adoptees navigating their sexual and relational experiences over their lifetimes. This presentation will outline and explore various issues related to adoptee sexuality and provide actionable guidance for parents and professionals to enrich their understanding of adoptee needs. Key topics include the interplay between attachment and sexuality, the fetishization of intercountry/transracial adoptees, the importance of mirrors in developing sexual self-confidence, the impact of purity culture, and the phenomenon of genetic sexual attraction with families of origin as well as sexual attraction within adoptive families.

C. Estrangement in adoption
Through a robust panel discussion, this session aims to reframe estrangement as a step towards liberation and authenticity and will explore the importance of support systems and the health benefits of setting boundaries over remaining in toxic environments.

Session 6  2:00 - 3:30 pm
CEUs: 1.5 Total for LMSWs, LPCs, LMFTs

A. I Think I Want to Write My Story!?
This presentation is designed for anyone in the adoption constellation who is considering writing their story but unsure where to begin. Whether you aspire to write a memoir, document your story for your family, or simply wish to write your story for the purpose of healing, this session will provide valuable insights. Monica, a self-published author, and Annie, a professional ghostwriter, will discuss the pros and cons of different writing approaches and share best practices for getting started. By the end of the presentation, attendees will have a clearer understanding of the best path for telling their story and the reasons behind their choice.

B. Shifting the Adoption Narrative: The role and power of adoptive parents in de-centering their place in the adoption narrative.
Using Paulo Freire's notion of praxis (self reflection and action lead to structural change), adoptive parents can begin to reflect on their role in the adoption narrative and take clear actions towards shifting the power dynamic in the adoption constellation and thus changing the narrative. We’ll explore how the power and privilege inherent in being an adoptive parent perpetuates an unhealthy adoption narrative, and how that same power and privilege can be used to reorient the narrative. Approaching our own child's adoption through a lens of curiosity, we, as adoptive parents, can begin to think critically about our role in the system of adoption, and why that matters for our child, and our child's birth family. Examples of adoption stories told through the adoptive parent's point of view will be deconstructed so participants can explore these stories from the adoptee and birth parent perspective. How does the story change? Why does this matter? Who benefits from the traditional adoption narratives? How does the pervasive adoption narrative show up in school, at family gatherings, in the media? Asking these questions and staying curious will allow adoptive parents to practice their "critical thinking" muscle, which is the first step in meaningful self reflection.

C. Living in Your Body as an Adoptee: Re-writing your Body Image Story
Presented by an adoptee dietitian and adoptee therapist, this presentation will explore how to conceptualize body image, the roots of body dissatisfaction through an intersectional lens, and how to approach healing. Body image encompasses perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about one's physical appearance, shaped by cultural and personal experiences. Negative body image involves dissatisfaction and a distorted view of one's body, often tied to deeper psychological issues and societal pressures. Healing involves confronting early ruptures and losses, such as genetic bewilderment and the impact of societal body ideals. Promoting body trust for adoptees involves redefining healing, reclaiming one's body story, and rebuilding trust through small, consistent actions. This presentation will provide education on Health at Every Size and offer body tolerance skills. Emphasizing self-compassion and kindness, we hope adoptees learn that they can respect and care for their bodies even while carrying generational trauma, grief, and loss.

Session 7  3:45 - 5:15 pm
CEUs: 1.5 Total for LMSWs, LPCs, LMFTs

A. I Found Her
This workshop views the perspective of myself and my first mom, my search and reunion and its impact on me finding myself. From my lived experience as an adoptee and LPC I hope to support participants in their journey to finding themselves. Utilizing the 7 core issues in adoption: Loss, Rejection, Shame/Guilt, Grief, Identity, Intimacy and Mastery & Control I hope to guide the participant on a therapeutic journey to excavate, declutter and reorganize their attachment style by discovering their very own love maps.

B. Book Talks: Adoption in KidLit
Join elementary and middle school librarians and adoptees, Carolina Ellis and Mari Valiente to learn about newly published titles in children’s literature that center adoptees and foster youth. Through engaging and fun book talks about Picture Book, Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult Reads find the best new book for yourself or a child in your life!

C. Honoring Your Adoption Narrative Through the Universal Language of Song: Playlists for Hope and Healing
Do you find yourself stuck in an old soundtrack, unable to shift to a more positive one? We will delve into the use of neuroscience to understand why this happens. Music is a universal language that most humans can resonate with. Many of us hear a song and it brings us back in time or propels us forward. Participants will reflect on their past, present and future narratives by identifying key words and phrases that they identify and describes those moments in time. We will take a pause for participants to look up “songs about belonging or rejection.” This will start the playlist of hope and healing.