Posts by Erica Kramer, MSW
Adoption Trauma – Part 1: What is Adoption Trauma?
Few of us stop to consider the earliest experiences that predate the adoption process and how the body and mind might record them as trauma. This is the first of a series of BPAR blogs incorporating adoptee voices and research that will address these issues and the challenges they may cause.
Read MoreConnecting the Dots: Even Young Adoptees Sense the Loss of Relinquishment
Adoptee Isaac Etter was one of the few people of color in his small town. His family didn’t understand how to broach topics around race or adoption. Most of what he learned about race and racism came from the internet as a teen. But by age five or six he already felt the rejection and abandonment of relinquishment.
Read MoreSearch and Reunion — Voices in the Lifelong Journey of Adoption
Why do adoptees decide to search for birth family? How does this affect adoptive parents? What are the ups and downs of the search and reunion process? Six adult adoptees share their search and reunion stories in this in-depth resource from Boston Post Adoption Resources.
Read MoreTransracial Adoption Obstacles and How to Address Them (Part Two)
This blog discusses ways to address obstacles that transracial adoptees encounter growing up in white communities, including cultural socialization, ways to talk about identity, giving voice to feelings, and how to focus on the best interest of the child.
Read MoreTransracial Adoption — What Parents Need to Know (Part One)
Much of the research about transracial adoption suggests that adoptees face a range of challenges. For this blog, I interviewed several transracial adoptees and an adoptive parent to hear their first-hand stories about their experiences.
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