All adoptees experienced trauma when being removed from their birth parents.  The trauma can be described as the immense emotional distress related to the adverse childhood experiences due to being separated from children’s birth families.  Author Nancy Verrier refers to this separation trauma as the “primal wound”.  While adoption can be a positive experience for many families, babies, children, or teens removed from their birth parents may experience psychological trauma regardless of the quality or stability of the family environment they are being brought into. 

 

Separation trauma and any other emotions felt during the adoption may linger in their developing neurological systems, resulting in intense emotions, difficulty understanding their traumatic experience, and potential discord with adopted families.  Many adoptees blame themselves because of their trauma which is no fault of them.

 

There are different physical and psychological manifestations that adoption trauma may take in adoptees.  Experiencing and healing from this type of trauma in throughout their life may be unique to the individual.  Additionally, not all those who have been adopted may feel that their trauma impacts them immensely while other might feel that it has caused severe emotional distress throughout their lives. 

 

Personally, I am a mother of two adoptees.  While I have tremendous appreciation for the experiences my children made possible to the family, there were struggles and pain we shared.  It is my passion to serve adoptees and adoptive families.   

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Resources:

 

Nancy Newton Verrier - The Primal Wound, Understanding the Adopted Child

http://nancyverrier.com

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Heather T. Forbes, LCSW– Beyond Consequences Institute

www.beyondconsequences.com

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Daniel A. Hughes, Ph.D. - Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy

www.danielhughes.org/index.html

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ATTACh – Association of Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children

www.attach.org 

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Daniel Siegel - Brain Development

http://www.drdansiegel.com/books_and_more/

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Bruce D. Perry, MD, Ph.D - The Boy who was raised as a Dog