The voices of first/birth parents, sadly, are rarely heard in the mainstream media related to adoption. This week on the Real World Parenting Podcast, Dr. Laura Anderson brings on Susan Dusza Guerra Leksander, LMFT to discuss navigating the power dynamics in adoptive families, dealing with the trauma that is inherent in the adoption process, and so much more. They touch on the fears involved in getting things wrong in these relationships, the fear for your child's safety, and the recent current events with Amy Coney Barrett and the abortion bans in the United States.
Susan Dusza Guerra Leksander, LMFT is a first mother, transracial adoptee, and a licensed psychotherapist who specializes in the adoption and foster care triads. As First/Birth Family Specialist, Susan focuses on the needs of expectant parents considering adoption, and first/birth families of who have placed children of color for adoption. Susan placed her daughter for adoption in 2001 in an “open” adoption which was subsequently closed by her daughter’s adoptive parents. She was transracially adopted as an infant and, with the support of her adoptive parents, reunited with her first families as a teenager. Susan envisions a world where all expectant parents and first/birth parents are fully empowered, accurately informed, and emotionally supported, in order to make the best decisions for their children and themselves.
What You Will Learn:
To unpack all that goes into adoption
To question your own beliefs and assumptions
Tips for clinicians working with members of the adoption triad
How trauma affects the First Parent even in a voluntary adoptive situation
Ways to cope with the imbalance of legal rights
What are the emotional experiences of birth first parents and how that shows up in relationships and communication
Resources:
Susan hosts a monthly peer support group for any first family members through PACT
Mpower alliance: https://www.mpoweralliance.org
Concerned United Birth Parents https://www.cubirthparents.org
