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Learn more about adoption & fostering
Adoption and fostering therapy is a broad term for therapeutic support connected to the experiences of adopting, fostering, or being adopted or fostered. It includes work with adoptive parents, foster carers, the children and young people in their care, and adults who were adopted or fostered earlier in life.
The range of concerns is wide: identity, belonging, grief, early loss, attachment difficulties, and the practical pressures of building a family across unfamiliar terrain. Therapy in this area recognises that adoption and fostering affect everyone in the family unit, often in different ways and on different timelines.
You don't need to be in crisis to benefit from therapy connected to adoption or fostering. Many people come when they're navigating a specific transition, when something has surfaced that they can't quite place, or simply when they want support from someone who understands this particular terrain.
You might find therapy useful if:
- You're an adoptive parent or foster carer managing a child's emotional or behavioural difficulties and aren't sure how to respond
- You're noticing patterns in your relationship with an adopted or fostered child that you'd like to understand better
- Your child is asking questions about their birth family, identity, or origins, and you want support in how to hold those conversations
- You were adopted and are processing questions about identity, belonging, or your early history
- You're an adult adoptee experiencing something, such as grief, relationship difficulties, or a sense of disconnection, that you suspect may connect to your early experience
- You're fostering and finding the emotional demands of the role harder than expected
- Your family has experienced a disrupted or failed placement and needs support to recover
Several therapeutic approaches are well suited to adoption and fostering contexts. The right fit often depends on who is seeking support and what they're working through.
Attachment-based therapy draws on attachment theory to understand how early relationships shape a person's sense of safety, trust, and connection. For children who have experienced disrupted early care, and for adoptees of any age reflecting on those early years, attachment-focused work can help make sense of patterns that have persisted across time.
Family therapy works with the family as a whole rather than with one individual in isolation. It can be useful when a foster or adoptive family is navigating communication difficulties, adjusting to a new family member, or trying to understand how different histories are showing up in the present.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is used for processing traumatic memories and early adverse experiences. EMDR is often used with adoptees or fostered young people whose early histories involved neglect, loss, or abuse.
Systemic therapy examines how wider contexts, including family systems, cultural backgrounds, and institutional histories, shape a person's experience. It can be especially relevant for families navigating transracial adoption or international fostering.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) can help adolescents and adults manage anxiety, low mood, or identity-related distress connected to adoption or fostering experiences.
Choosing an approach isn't something you have to do alone. IC's matching can pair you with a therapist whose approach suits your situation. Get matched.
It's Complicated is a therapist-founded mental health platform connecting clients with verified practitioners across Europe and globally, in over 60 languages. We work with over 2,500 vetted therapists, with in-person availability in Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lisbon, Vienna, and other major cities, alongside online sessions worldwide. It's Complicated is free to use, and you pay your chosen therapist directly at rates they set.
Finding a therapist who genuinely understands adoption and fostering, rather than one who is simply willing to try, can take longer than it should. Our matching service is built to remove that friction. You complete a short survey, our psychologists combine data-driven insights with human judgement to identify the right therapists for your situation, and you choose from a shortlist of strong candidates. You can also browse our directory directly if you'd prefer to choose yourself.
Get matched with a therapist who specialises in adoption and fostering, or browse all adoption and fostering therapists in the directory.
