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In this episode, Sherrie invites Tova J. Kreps, licensed social worker and co-founder of Wellspring Counseling, to discuss the complexities of adoption, trauma recovery, and the power of faith in navigating these challenges. Tova shares her inspiring journey, shaped by her upbringing in a missionary family, her personal experience with adoption, and her decades of professional work helping families navigate the complexities of trauma and mental health. Together, they explore the unique challenges adoptive parents face, the importance of setting healthy boundaries, and the profound need for self-care and support in times of crisis.

Tova offers invaluable wisdom on reframing expectations for adoptive families, emphasizing the shift from seeking perfect outcomes to staying faithful and loving amidst the difficulties. She also highlights the transformative power of professional guidance and community connection, as well as the resources available through Wellspring Counseling for trauma recovery and resilience. This episode is a compassionate guide for adoptive families, foster parents, and anyone seeking to understand the intersection of faith, trauma, and healing.

Whether you're an adoptive parent, someone touched by adoption, or a supporter of these journeys, this episode provides hope, encouragement, and practical tools to navigate life’s toughest challenges.

Key Takeaways:

• The Impact of Adoption on Families: Tova shares her personal story of adoption and how it shaped her life and career in social work.
• Trauma and Resilience: Practical insights into trauma recovery for both children and parents, including her innovative "Circle of Truth" model.
• The Role of Boundaries: Why boundaries are crucial for creating security in adoptive families.
• Reframing Success: Moving from outcome-focused parenting to faithfulness-focused parenting.
• The Importance of Support: Encouragement to seek professional help and connect with communities that understand adoption and trauma challenges.
• Self-Care for Parents: Why self-care is essential for maintaining emotional resilience and providing consistent love and guidance.
• Wellspring Counseling Resources: An overview of Wellspring’s trauma recovery programs and opportunities for fast-track family therapy.

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In this heartfelt and transformative episode, Sherrie Eldridge sits down with esteemed guest Brian Post, a renowned adoption and child behavior expert. Brian, an adoptee and former foster child, shares his compelling life story—from his early experiences in foster care to reuniting with his birth mother decades later. His journey underscores the resilience, trauma, and profound emotional growth that many adoptees experience.

Brian discusses the power of love as a healing force, the critical importance of self-awareness, and the hard truths about the foster and adoption systems. He reveals how stress inhibits secure attachment and how we must confront our deepest pains to foster genuine healing. Sherry and Brian also touch on the complexities of anger within the adoption community, the challenges faced by foster parents, and the impact of "rehoming" on children.

This episode provides invaluable insights for adoptees, adoptive and foster parents, and professionals in the field, highlighting the necessity of facing trauma head-on and the importance of creating safe, supportive environments for children. Join us for a candid and inspiring conversation that embraces vulnerability, resilience, and the path from fear to unconditional love.

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In this conversation, Sherrie Eldridge interviews Virginia Wells, an adoptive mom and author, about her experiences and insights. They discuss the challenges of adoptive parenting, the importance of preparation and realistic expectations, and the power of prayer. Virginia shares her own journey as an adoptive mom and offers advice for prospective adoptive parents. She also talks about her upcoming book, which covers topics such as grief, identity, and self-care in the context of adoption. Overall, the conversation highlights the need for support, understanding, and a compassionate approach to adoption.

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n this conversation, Sherrie Eldridge interviews Virginia Wells, an adoptive mom and author, about her experiences and insights. They discuss the challenges of adoptive parenting, the importance of preparation and realistic expectations, and the power of prayer. Virginia shares her own journey as an adoptive mom and offers advice for prospective adoptive parents. She also talks about her upcoming book, which covers topics such as grief, identity, and self-care in the context of adoption. Overall, the conversation highlights the need for support, understanding, and a compassionate approach to adoption.

Keywords

adoption, adoptive parenting, challenges, preparation, expectations, prayer, support, grief, identity, self-care

Takeaways

• Adoptive parents should seek support and understanding from other parents who have gone through similar experiences.
• Realistic expectations are important in adoptive parenting, and parents should be prepared for challenges and setbacks.
• Prayer can be a powerful tool for adoptive parents, providing comfort, guidance, and strength.
• Grief is a common experience in adoption, and it is important for parents to acknowledge and process their own grief as well as their child's.
• Self-care is crucial for adoptive parents, and they should prioritize their own well-being in order to better support their child.

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Jocelyn Williams, a developmental movement consultant, discusses the importance of movement-based solutions for infant and child development. She emphasizes the significance of the first year of life in building the foundation of neurology and explains how movement patterns and sensory experiences contribute to brain development. Williams shares her personal experience of adopting children and the challenges they faced, including attachment issues and learning difficulties. She highlights the role of neurodevelopmental movement in addressing these challenges and promoting healing. Williams also encourages parents to prioritize self-care and forgiveness as they navigate the journey of parenting children with trauma backgrounds.

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Dafna Lender, LCSW, is a Licensed Social Worker and Certified Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapist. Experts such as Besssel van der Koklk applaud her work.

When Sherrie Eldridge asks her about the term "Reactive Attachment Disorder," quite the conversation occurred. 
Sherrie shared her story of how she has recovered from this, and Dafna taught in depth how and why the term is outdated and what adoptive moms need to understand about parenting a child that has come from severe trauma.

Key points from the podcast:
1. Correct and current diagnostic term for children who have suffered extreme pre-adoption trauma.
2. What healed Sherrie's traumatized brain, body, and soul.
3. Current brain researchers that can be trusted.

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In this episode, I talk with award-winning author and advocate, Keri Williams, about her two-decade journey as a foster and adoptive parent, highlighting the challenges of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). Keri shares her personal adoption experiences and the behavioral challenges she faced. She discusses navigating mental health systems, societal misconceptions, and the need for more support and resources for RAD caregivers. Join me for this enlightening conversation on parenting children with RAD and the importance of self-care and advocacy in the adoption community.

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Karen Springs provides cutting-edge research about how adoptive families wit kids adopted from overseas have progressed.  In her new book—THE BACKSEAT OF ADOPTION, she shares How the families she worked with in Europe are currently progressing.

•  Are the children thriving? 
• Are the parents thriving?
• What are the joys of parenting?
• What are common obstacles?
• How many children are searching for their roots?
• Are the parents involved in their adult children’s lives?

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What could be more exciting than to be an adopted person and find the family that you never knew existed? 

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Hi, my friends. Well, we're going to visit the subject of adoptee birthdays again today. I just recently had one. I'm well into my seventh decade of life, and I look back and I realize that there are so many things that I couldn't say or explain. About adoptee birthdays in my younger years, but I'd just kinda like to share with you the new thoughts that I have about birthdays so that maybe the whole triad adoptees, my fellow adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, foster parents, can glean some insights so that adoptees can learn to navigate those milestones in a healthy way.

So, anyway, let me just share a memory with you of my last birthday party. I was up in Michigan with my family. All of Bob's brothers were there and their wives, and many of our nieces and nephews were there. And we were sitting out in the backyard in this August afternoon in beautiful Michigan near the lake.

At one moment, one of the nieces came out with a beautiful birthday cake. It was like probably 14 inches around and it had a red candle, one red candle on it. And then I looked around and everybody, all my family was standing in a circle. They had their iPhones up and they were singing happy birthday to you.

And I tell you, it really touched my heart. I felt so incredibly loved by my family. But you know, friends, as I think about that positive experience, I think back to other times when I couldn't receive the love that my family wanted to give me. As you know, I've gone through a healing of memories time a couple years ago, so I am able to receive more than I ever could.

But this was so wonderful, and family, I love you for doing that for me. I really love each one of you so very much. So, today we're going to revisit the subject of adoptee birthdays and realize as I share these thoughts that these are my thoughts. I'm not trying to speak for all adoptees at all. I wouldn't presume to do that, but perhaps if I share my thoughts about what really goes on in an adoptee's brain and mind and body during a birthday year.

Everybody might be able to understand the adoptee better, and of course that's always my passion, is that the adopted child will navigate well through life. So, there's three things that I would like to talk about today. I'll tell you the three and then we'll go into detail. The first one is, birthdays often trigger strong emotions.

That's the first thing. The second one is, birthdays might set up the adoptee for complacencies. And the third one is, birthdays are opportunities for parents, both birth and adoptive, to prepare for the unexpected. You can't plan it, parents. And so, I'll explain that more as we go along. But, I think about my own mom, Aretha was her name.

She was such a good mom and tried so very hard on birthdays to make me feel loved, to make me feel special. I have a picture of her, black and white photo of the table that she sat for me at the picnic table when I was about five years old, sitting with all my friends, all dressed up in pretty dresses and stuff around the picnic table and everybody was having fun, but I was pouting.

Sure, I couldn't have told you at that time what was going on in my mind. I know now that I was very sad. I was missing my birth mother, my first mother, as we say now, beautiful Elizabeth, who was my first mom, who gave me my first home, whose heartbeat became the rhythm for my life, for the dance of adoption.

And I was missing her. I didn't even know about her then, at least in a verbal way. But of course I did, because I grew in her womb. We will always be a part of our first family, and we love them very much. I wish that, as many of you know, the reunion that I had with Elizabeth ended in rejection of her to me.

I wish that could have go

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