Ryan Gustafson and Hana Crisp created the Adopted Feels podcast that explores adoption-related topics including mental health, race, and identity, challenges dominant narratives about adoption, and helps to build an online community. Robyn Joy Park, LMFT and I were honored to participate in a discussion about our individual and collaborative healing journeys and our perspectives on connections and mental health for our communities. It was a good time. Keyword: Sea Leg

Listen HERE to the podcast.

“In this conversation, Angela and Robyn talk about how they became therapists who specialize in adoption, the challenges, and rewards of this work, how their mentorship relationship turned into a professional partnership and deep friendship, and the online community they have built for adoptees of colour, some practical advice for adoptees looking for a new therapist or seeking therapy for the first time, and more—all with wisdom, candor, and humor.”… Read the rest “Angela and Robyn on the Adopted Feels Podcast”

Is there space for all our voices? November is designated as a month for adoption conversations. Not too many years ago, it was expressly considered a celebration of adoption. We now know that it is a much more complex and difficult conversation for adopted people, birth parents, and yes, for adoptive parents, too. Adoption includes separation, and that grief and loss is often held ambiguously, without recognition or understanding. For many transracial and/or inter-country adoptees the liminal space between cultures and ethnicities can be an enduring challenge. We now have many more opportunities for access to support and resources. Some spaces are large, and others intimate, and I hope that everyone who feels the need, will keep checking in, until they find that safe, representative space to “just be you”.… Read the rest “November Conversations . . . Our Space”