Your heart is leading you to adoption, but your head is saying you need to learn more about the process and parenting before diving in. The solution to this conundrum is Alabama Pre/Post Adoption Connections (APAC)’s educational offerings. APAC hosts a variety of classes to empower and educate adoptive parents, from becoming more informed when first considering adoption to addressing specific needs once your adopted child has joined your forever family.
Trauma Informed Partnering for Permanence and Safety (TIPS) Classes
Over 10 meetings (30 classroom hours), TIPS classes will tactfully help you discern if adoption is a viable option for your family. You’ll get to know more about the children currently awaiting forever homes. You’ll also explore how adoption may impact your existing family. Other behavioral matters you may experience by welcoming a child through adoption will also be discussed while presenting thoughtful management techniques. Learning more about your own current family, how to work in partnership, and being able to build connections and self-esteem are key concepts taught in these classes to lay a strong foundation for a successful adoptive family.
After completing the TIPS series, you’ll feel confident about your choice, whether you continue with the adoption process or not. If you decide opening your hearts and home via adoption is the next right step, your existing family’s strengths and weaknesses will be analyzed to pair you with a child that could just be your missing piece through a mutual selection process.
Therapeutic Parenting Training
Once you decide that you’re ready to take on the role of an adoptive parent, APAC provides an additional mandatory 3-hour training on therapeutic parenting. Therapeutic parenting emphasizes high
nurture and structure to create safety and trust within a parent/child relationship. This research-backed method has been shown to be the most effective in healing past traumas that your adoptive child may still be processing when he or she joins your family.
You’ll learn more about how to best apply the pivotal concepts of emotional regulation, attachment building, and graceful discipline in your home. These tools will help you constructively support your adoptive child to become the most resilient, truest version of him or herself.
Counseling
Despite how empowered you’ll feel after TIPS and Therapeutic Parenting Training group classes, you may experience uncharted territory in your family dynamics after your adoptive child starts to settle into your home. When these bumps in the road happen, APAC’s certified adoption-competent counselors are available to help you navigate them with one-on-one sessions.
All counselors bring a wealth of experience to your situation in a format that’s best accessible to you. Book an appointment regionally in offices throughout the state, or you can easily schedule a telehealth appointment, too.
Accessibility to mental health resources that help you and your newly expanded family thrive are of the utmost importance to APAC year-round. APAC is proud to offer these mental health services at no cost to families, through their partnership with Alabama DHR.
Education Along a Continuum
APAC offers educational opportunities on a range of specific and highly relevant topics for adoptive families throughout the year, as well. With topics including ways to best communicate with your adoptive child’s school and how to respond to bullying at home, you’ll learn how to concretely navigate school-related challenges alongside your adoptive child with more than expected ease as they arise.
Specific behavioral concerns are also highlighted by nationally acclaimed experts at various points of the year, such as how to navigate narcissism in families or understanding and addressing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These classes are free and offered via livestream or on-demand, so that you can join them without any stress of a commute to a classroom. You can also check out APAC’s website for written and timely resources at any time.
APAC’s Classes: Where Your Head and Heart Merge
In any situation, knowledge is power. With APAC’s substantial class listings, your head and your heart will finally converge to decide if adoption is right for you and your family. If you decide to embrace an adoptive child, APAC will be your go-to resource for enriching the family dynamic, whether it be through formal in-person classes, online webinars, or one-on-one counseling services. APAC Adoption Recruiters Brittany Popham and Stacy Justice are standing by, when you’re ready to begin the adoption conversation.
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