Laura Stone MA, LMHC

Adults may process trauma in a variety of ways, best suited to their needs. Children who see me often have significant trauma in their history. We can address this in many ways. With adoptive families and children, there is generally a component of the therapy for parents to learn about the impact of various kinds of developmental trauma, how it can disrupt attachment, and development of therapeutic parenting skills. For children, I often use a combination of EMDR, Art Therapy and Play Therapy.

Children with neglect or abuse background, neurological issues as a consequence of prenatal exposure, multiple changes in caregivers, or who have been cared for without forming close attachments may struggle after adoption. There are a variety of techniques we can employ to encourage and form close attachment in families. For adults, attachment issues from childhood can linger and cause issues in adult relationships. Through use of IFS and other techniques, we can address and repair.

Adult adoptees can experience issues related to unresolved past trauma, less-than-ideal attachment formation, identity issues, anxiety, grief and loss issues, difficulty completing things, feelings of guilt and shame, fearing rejection, and feeling a lack of control. Through exploration and resolution of the past, and formation of new internal resources, adult adoptees can achieve a better state of ease and improved attachment experiences. Children who get help early have better outcomes.

Attachment work with children and adoptive parents can involve parent /child observation, games and play in session, lots of things to set up and do at home, development of consistent routines, work with parents who may feel blocked or discouraged in the face of their child's challenging behaviors. Adults may find it helpful to explore their early relationships, or absence of parental care, and begin to recognize unmet needs and ways to address them now.

EMDR is "a structured therapy that encourages the patient to briefly focus on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories." -APA. The actual experience of EMDR varies depending on age of client, and it can be combined with other methods. EMDR can be delivered remotely, but tends to work better in-person.

For adults, trauma therapy generally involves some exploration and consolidation of the past, along with building new resources, via EMDR, somatic and other methods. Treating trauma for previously traumatized children is a multi-faceted endeavor, which may include review and exposure to the narrative, play and art therapy to express and resolve conflicts, consolidation of the traumatic experiences, and creation of a new narrative going forward, with a focus on building identity and competency.