Adoption Therapists in 16319
The Children's Home & Lemieux Family Center
Licensed Professional Counselor, MS, LPC
Verified Verified
Cranberry, PA 16319
He enjoys working with individuals, couples, families, and children in the areas of adoption and infertility.
Are you looking for support as a couple or during a period of grief? Or, in the areas of adoption, infertility, assisted reproductive technology, donor conception, pregnancy loss or pregnancy decision making? You may feel alone, but you are not. We’re here to help. The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh provides specialized counseling services to individuals, families, couples, and children. We work with all individuals and family types, without discrimination.
He enjoys working with individuals, couples, families, and children in the areas of adoption and infertility.
Are you looking for support as a couple or during a period of grief? Or, in the areas of adoption, infertility, assisted reproductive technology, donor conception, pregnancy loss or pregnancy decision making? You may feel alone, but you are not. We’re here to help. The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh provides specialized counseling services to individuals, families, couples, and children. We work with all individuals and family types, without discrimination.
I am accepting clients in office/telehealth. With over two decades of experience in the mental health field, I have worked with children, teens and adults individually and with their families. I feel that my background working in inpatient, outpatient, residential and in-home settings enables me to help a variety of clients from all walks of life and backgounds in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. My clinical approach most often includes Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT.) I believe in drawing on individual and family strengths.
I am accepting clients in office/telehealth. With over two decades of experience in the mental health field, I have worked with children, teens and adults individually and with their families. I feel that my background working in inpatient, outpatient, residential and in-home settings enables me to help a variety of clients from all walks of life and backgounds in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. My clinical approach most often includes Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT.) I believe in drawing on individual and family strengths.
Melissa Ray
Clinical Social Work/Therapist, MSW, LCSW
Verified Verified
2 Endorsed
Cranberry, PA 16319
Whether this is your first step in your journey of healing for yourself or your child, or you have been doing this for a while, looking for a new therapist can feel like a big step! My name is Melissa Ray, LCSW. I am a licensed clinical social worker. I love helping others using a gentle and non-judgemental approach. I am clinically trained to treat trauma in children. I also treat anxiety, depression, ADHD, and more. I use a variety of therapeutic modalities, including TF-CBT (trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy). With parental participation, I enjoy working with kids as young as 2. I work with kids and adults of any age.
Whether this is your first step in your journey of healing for yourself or your child, or you have been doing this for a while, looking for a new therapist can feel like a big step! My name is Melissa Ray, LCSW. I am a licensed clinical social worker. I love helping others using a gentle and non-judgemental approach. I am clinically trained to treat trauma in children. I also treat anxiety, depression, ADHD, and more. I use a variety of therapeutic modalities, including TF-CBT (trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy). With parental participation, I enjoy working with kids as young as 2. I work with kids and adults of any age.
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Adoption Therapists
Does my adopted child need therapy?
Not every adopted child needs therapy. However, many can benefit from seeing an adoption-informed therapist, especially if they were victims of abuse or neglect, appear withdrawn or disconnected, have behavioral or developmental issues (which may or may not be related to their adoption), are struggling with feelings of grief or loss surrounding their birth parents, or find it difficult to establish an identity, a challenge that often becomes most apparent during adolescence.
When should adoptive parents seek therapy?
Prospective parents can benefit from therapy even before an adoption—for example, to voice worries and fears; to reconcile infertility struggles, if relevant; or simply to prepare themselves for parenthood. After the adoption, parents who are struggling to bond with their child; are unsure how to talk about adoption or related issues, such as race; or whose child is dealing with developmental, behavioral, or psychiatric concerns can address these and other issues with the help of an adoption-competent therapist.
Is family therapy appropriate for adoptive families?
Family therapy can be invaluable for strengthening the bond between adoptive parents and children, helping the latter feel more secure in their place in the family. Family therapy can also help adoptive families navigate complex communication issues—for example, parents who feel uncomfortable discussing race with their child, who in turn feels invalidated by their silence, or a child who has questions about his birth parents but avoids asking them out of fear of hurting his adoptive parents’ feelings.
What therapy is not appropriate for adoption issues?
A discredited therapy known as “attachment therapy” (sometimes called “holding therapy” or “rebirthing therapy”) should not be used to treat adopted and foster children, though it was largely designed for this population. Attachment therapy involves restraining, coercing, and punishing the child in order for them to “release” negative emotions and attach to their new caregivers—techniques that are abusive and dangerous and have even proven fatal in some cases.