Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

Where are you on the trauma and healing journey? In today's episode I share the stages I've been through and what's helped me navigate them.

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Learning to feel rather than numb feels really important for me at the moment. Here's some things I'm exploring. I hope they help you.

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Is reunion confusing you? Are you caught between biological and adoptive families? Adoptee and therapist David talks about magic moments, honeymoon period and confusion in his reunion. We explore how that confusion has eased and become easier to live with over time.

Here's a bit about David from his website:

I am a counsellor and EMDR practitioner. I offer face-to-face therapy sessions, including video calls if needed.

I was adopted as a young child so I understand the issues and challenges that come with that, I now work with many adopted adults in this country and abroad.

I became a therapist after volunteering all my adult life working with children and young people and prison work. I wanted to formalise that as I enjoy making a difference to people's lives. I am friendly, empathic and offer a safe space for you to explore any difficulties, such as anxiety, depression, relationship issues, identity, family issues, post-natal depression, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, self esteem and confidence. I take a trauma informed integrative therapeutic approach. You will have your own space to talk about whatever you come to me with; there is no rush, it's a gentle way of exploring things.

I am a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP). I achieved my Foundation degree Arts (FdA) in Counselling, after attaining levels 2 and 3 in counselling. The Foundation degree involved two years of training and over 100 hours of supervised counselling practice. I have a CPCAB diploma and certification in EMDR from the Dominic Beirne School of Clinical Hypnosis & Psychotherapy and also the flash technique and dyadic resourcing. ​Because of my interest in adoption, I also completed the Attachment Matters and 'Healing your Inner Child' training, developed by Nancy Maillie. www.nmtrauma.co.uk

More at https://www.davidbenjamintherapy.com/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

What do you believe about yourself? How do you see yourself? Trauma messes up our beliefs and identity. Listen in as Michelle dives deep into busting beliefs and getting clear on identity. All so we can heal at a deeper level.

Michelle Madrid is a powerhouse life coach and guidance mentor who is passionate about igniting the light within every adoptee and woman she coaches. She seeks soulful modalties of healing to support individuals in feeling a deeper connectedness with themselves and with others. Michelle is a former foster child from the United Kingdom and an international adoptee. She understands the nuances of this lived-experience and considers it a great honor to guide her clients back home to themselves as they embrace a deeper sense of identity and calling. 

Michelle is a Congressional Angels in Adoption® Honoree as well as an inductee to the New Mexico Women's Hall of Fame. She is a former Emmy-nominated television news journalist. Michelle is an in-demand high-impact speaker whose perspectives are renowned both domestically and internationally. Her illuminating content and coaching offerings can be found at TheMichelleMadrid.com. Michelle is a proud mother, animal lover, equestrian, and a world traveler who feels at home no matter where she is because she's found her home within.

https://themichellemadrid.com/

https://www.instagram.com/themichellemadrid

https://www.facebook.com/LetHerBeGreater

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-madrid-62b1661a/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Are you stuck in a rut on your healing journey? Unsure of what's holding you back? Listen in as Linda and I dive deep into how changing feelings kickstarts healing. We also cover what stops us changing for the better. And it's not what most of us think.

Her first interview https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/freedom-with-emma-stevens

Her second interview  https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/becoming-our-own-guru-with-emma-stevens

Linda Pevac aka Emma Stevens is a U.S. domestic adoptee from birth and has survived layers of trauma that have put her on multiple journeys. She developed the inner strength and courage to surmount the many struggles she faced. Her traumas were born from being an adoptee who struggled with being forced to wear an impossible mask of playing the part of the “good adopted child.” Because being relinquished and adopted has colored her life, it’s Emma’s desire to be part of the movement that is dedicated to helping bring forth change to the way our world views the needs and support of adopted individuals. She believes strongly in adoptees finding their voice and discovering their truth to have a solid sense of self and to reclaim their identities. Through telling her story, Emma is dedicated to help redefine the narrative of adoption to include the entire complex truth.

More about Linda/Emma at:

https://linktr.ee/EmmaStevensWriter

https://www.instagram.com/EmmaStevensWriter

https://www.facebook.com/EmmaStevensWriter

https://www.tiktok.com/@EmmaStevensWriter

https://twitter.com/emmastevenswrtr

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you get the sense that there's more of you that needs to heal? Have you had glimpses of your whole self but you want to see and feel whole more of the time? Listen in as adoptee and therapist Kathy goes deep on how feelings change so we heal. Please note she does talk about her personal use of psychedelics in healing.

Here's a bit about Kathy from her website:

Long before I became a therapist, I was adopted. My parents had two biological sons and were unable to have a third child and wanted a girl, so they adopted me. Even before then, though, I was relinquished. 

I make the distinction between relinquishment and adoption, because those are two separate events, and I believe the root of many “adoption issues" lies with relinquishment and the experience of having been separated from one’s original parents, especially one’s first mom/birthmom. I was relinquished at birth, placed in foster care and then placed with my adoptive family when I was 10 weeks old. Even those of us who were relinquished at birth, before we developed conscious memory, lived through the experience, and our bodies remember, which often lead us to respond as though it is happening again—a post-traumatic response.

My personal experiences led me to become a therapist who specializes in helping other adoptees, and the people close to them. I work with adult adoptees, adopted children/teens, adoptive parents, first/birth parents, prospective adoptive parents and the partners of adoptees, as well as others who have had similar experiences for other reasons. 

https://www.instagram.com/kathymackechney/

https://www.adopteetherapy.com/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you yearn for more connection? With others? With yourself? Listen in as I explore why we feel like that, what gets in the way of connection and how connection happens.

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you explode when triggered? Do you avoid situations that you fear might trigger you? Listen in as I take a deep dive into triggers so you can hear something new that brings you more peace.

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

So many of us feel we're missing something and yearn for completeness. So how do we fill that void? Today's episode is a deep dive into that space where we feel peace and at home.

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Looking to bounce back? Having a tough time riding the emotional rollercoaster of reunion? Listen into a particular empowering interview with Lisa as she goes deep on resilience, mindset, her take on our higher power and much more. Insights galore. 

Lisa A. Quaites was born in South Korea, but adopted to the United States and raised by a Black military family. She lived much of her life in America's Heartland, where she met her husband James.  The couple raised two daughters, Capris and Candace, who also reside in the Midwest. Lisa's stepson, Chris, lives in Georgia with his wife and two children. 

Results from a consumer DNA test uncovered Lisa's Caribbean roots and unexpectedly matched her with biological relatives. Faith & Favor is Lisa’s debut memoir detailing her personal journey to discover her birth family. This inspiring story highlights her redemptive resilience as she navigates the challenges of being a mixed-race Korean. 

An IT professional by trade, Lisa travels for leisure as much as possible, plays volleyball and tennis, and loves the live music scene.

Here's that link to the interview with Sara Easterly I mention if you'd like to hear more about her and her Adoptee Voices writing group https://pod.fo/e/1e4668

https://summersolsticepublishing.com/

https://www.instagram.com/lisaquaites

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.