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I waited 20 yrs to go back to school, but I finally did it. I am a Marriage and Family Therapist (candidate) and have been given some families wherein the child is in the process of being adopted by foster families. My job is to help the child understand the loss of bio parents due to termination of rights and adoption into new families. Some families are kin, some are not. I love my job! I love these kids! and I love those wonderful families out there who are putting their hearts out and embracing these very deserving children. I want to do what is best for all involved. I may not take all advice but I will certainly take what is said into consideration. Please help me help these families become whole and happy. I love the one comment by a poster here that she offered to scream instead of doing (whatever thing the child wanted) for a day or two, showing the child how screaming affects others. In my opinion, what a great plan! I bet that lesson was well earned and to give him the choice, scream or said item..... he chooses the item every time. Possibly he will rethink his own screaming as a result :) I dont want to be the therapist that is talked about as in this same post (her only comment was, so you withheld food) of course NOT! This therapist totally missed the point. What I am asking from this forum is to help me not miss the point. I want your view as well. Also, which books do you think are best? I love to read and research, and I will do my best to continue with my education on as many aspects of this subject as possible.
Sorry so long winded
TessLMFT
Congratulations on your new career! That is such an awesome path for you to have picked, I bet at the end of your life you will feel so good looking back at how much you helped during your life.
Some of the books I have found helpful as a parent of a child adopted through foster care are: Attaching in Adoption by Gray, Helping Children Cope with Separation and Loss by Jarratt, A Child's Journey Through Placement by Fahlberg, ALL the Love and Logic audio versions of their books, and Beyond Consequences, Logic, and Control by Forbes and Post.
Another book that was terribly difficult to read but helpful was called Theraplay. I don't know who wrote it but it was chock full of difficult terminology and I usually fell asleep each time I read some of it. It had a nice appendix of games to play that promoted various aspects of attachment (things like sticking cotton balls on each other's faces using drops of hand lotion as the glue, etc.)
Sorry about the size of this image if it is big, I don't know how to make it smaller.
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