Foster & Adoptive Couples
You can love your child deeply and still feel exhausted.
Foster and adoptive parenting asks something ordinary parenting advice never anticipated — and it asks it of your marriage too. I work with couples raising children whose stories began before they came home, so that the relationship holding the family up gets cared for as well.
Understood, not judged
Control battles, loyalty grief, dysregulation, placement transitions, secondary trauma, and the particular loneliness of loving a child whose behavior confuses the people around you.
My commitment here is professional and personal — I've been a foster parent. You will not have to explain why the hard days are hard.
Ways I support foster & adoptive couples
The marriage under the caregiving
Placement stress, court dates, therapy appointments, and big behaviors can quietly turn partners into co-managers. We work on getting the couple back.
Getting on the same page
When one parent is the safe one and the other is the enforcer, everyone loses. We build a shared, attachment-based approach you both believe in.
Behavior that makes sense
Understanding the trauma, attachment needs, and nervous system underneath what your child is doing — so responses stop feeling like guesswork.
Secondary trauma & burnout
Naming what caregiving has cost each of you, and rebuilding rest, support, and identity outside of the hardest parts of parenting.
Understanding attachment & behavior
Read a fuller guide on what drives challenging behavior in foster and adoptive children, what attachment needs look like in action, and how EMDR and attachment-based therapy can help.
Read the attachment & behavior guide →Beyond the therapy room
Alongside therapy, I offer parent consultation, education, and training for churches and professionals walking with foster and adoptive families.