For intercountry adopters in the process of waiting, our Coffee Mornings may give you an opportunity to connect, share, and hopefully feel more supported by people going through a similar experience.
Coffee Mornings are hosted by Jessica Spenceley, our lead on Adoption Support, as well as a member of the Post-Approval Team, and together, they will be able to provide support around the questions and uncertainties you may have, whilst also giving you the opportunity to continue to grow as an adoptive parent.
We warmly welcome you to our upcoming Coffee Mornings, which are scheduled to take place from 10am to 11.30am on Zoom:
If you would like to attend, please email us at adoptionsupport@coramiac.org.uk
Please note that enrolment for each session closes two weeks before the group's start date.
Please bear in mind that if you have specific questions around what might be happening around the country you are adopting from, the Department for Education or immigration matters, you will find that an Information Session or a discussion with your Post Approval Senior Practitioner will be a great space for you to get the support you need.
The African Adoption Support Group is a warm and welcoming space for parents connected to adoption from Africa. The meeting is an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences, find and give support, and feel connected to other parents who get where you're coming from. Parents are encouraged to participate and to raise the issues and topics that are on their minds. Alongside that, we also have rich discussions during every session focused on specific themes like what it means to be a therapeutic parent; how to talk about adoption and the hard stuff; your worries and concerns; raising a black child in England; experiences of prejudice, microaggressions and racism; and helpful coping strategies, just to name a few.
Group sessions are especially useful for parents who have already been matched or have their child home with them. However, if you are in the earlier states of adoption, sessions are useful too, as they are opportunities to learn from more experienced adopters. For all who attend, the group offers parents the space to learn helpful tools and to gain additional resources to draw upon in your parenting.
The next support groups will take place between 12pm - 2pm on Zoom:
Facilitators: Jessica Spenceley & Paula Bennet
If you would like to attend, please email us at adoptionsupport@coramiac.org.uk
Please note that enrolment for each session closes two weeks before the group's start date.
The journey of adoption as a single parent is unique, and our Single Adopter Group is a space to support you along your journey wherever you are in the process, whether that be in the process of waiting for a child to join your family or as a seasoned adoptive parent. Groups are hosted by Jessica Spenceley, as well as a member of the Assessment Team, and together, they create a helpful space where you may connect with others who understand your experience, feel encouraged and grow as you navigate your adoption journey.
The next support groups will take place between 10am - 11.30am on Zoom:
Facilitators: Jessica Spenceley & Assessment Team Member
To book your place, please email adoptionsupport@coramiac.org.uk
Time: 10am – 1pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Facilitator: Lorna Ramsay
Our Life Story Telling Group is designed with our families of identified children in mind, whose children are in placement. In this small, welcoming group setting, adopters of identified children have the opportunity to build confidence and enhance their skills around talking to their child about adoption through creating their child’s life story book. The group space also offers an interactive programme of learning using videos and discussions on key issues in adoption, their children’s identity development and the ways in which culture and values can play a role in positively shaping this.
The group is a helpful space for adopters of identified children to grow, develop, support one another, share helpful parenting approaches, and tap into additional resources.
If you would like to book your place, please contact Lorna directly at lorna.ramsay@coramiac.org.uk
Time: 10am – 12pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Facilitators: Jan Way, Katherine Samwell-Smith, and Lorna Ramsay
Parenting secondary school aged children (11+) can be a really tricky job, and many parents find it frustrating and challenging. Hormonal changes, new schools, new friends, peer influence, bullying, the influence of social media, and the pressure to conform all make this time of life hard for teenagers and parents alike. Adoptive parents also have additional concerns as their children process further the meaning of being adopted.
We are offering a series of informal workshops for parents to share concerns, worries, and ideas on Zoom. There will be time for discussion but with a focus on:
• The teenage brain and managing behaviour
• Friendships and peer influence
• Managing the adoption story
• Helping your teen to manage the questions and assumptions that come from being an adopted person
• Being different and being bullied
• Social media and the influence on our children
Sessions will be led by Jan Way, MBE, adoptive parent and adoption worker who has direct personal and professional experience of negotiating this time of life. Lorna Ramsay, Senior Social Worker in Adoption Support, who is herself a seasoned parent of teenagers, and Katherine Samwell-Smith, who has lived experience of being an intercountry adoptee, will co-facilitate.
This is a small group program, and we have space for 10 families to join us. If you are interested, please contact Lorna via email at lorna.ramsay@coramiac.org.uk for more information and to book your place.
Please note that by signing up, you are committing to attending all six sessions, and we are looking forward to seeing you there!
Time: 2pm – 5pm
Location: To be confirmed
Facilitators: Lorna Ramsay
Becoming a teenager can feel like an enormously tricky time of development. Young people suddenly find themselves needing to navigate all sorts of things, such as parent and teacher expectations, body changes, mood swings, the pull of social media, friendship groups, and seeking to belong and be part of the “in crowd”. It can be exhausting to keep up with. For adopted children, they are also grappling with making sense of their identity and what it means for them to be adopted. This all adds up to be quite an emotional rollercoaster for not only the teen, but their parents too.
Therefore, we are creating a group space for our adopted teens to come along for regular meetups with other adopted children, who share similar experiences and know what it is like to be adopted. The emphasis will be on having FUN through a range of interactive activities, but there will also be meaningful opportunities to:
• Share adoption feelings and emotions (SAFE)
• Explore and develop a sense of personal identity
• Talk about topics that are important to adopted teenagers and their past
• Listen to other young people’s adoption stories to help make sense of their own life history
• Learn helpful tips and strategies to use when managing school life
• Building healthy friendships
• Nurturing individual mental wellbeing
• Develop lifelong friendships with other likeminded adopted teenagers
If you are interested, please contact Lorna via email at lorna.ramsay@coramiac.org.uk for more information and to book your place.
Please note that additional group dates and times will be set with the teens in attendance.
Our Consultation Service provides you with an opportunity to explore the range of issues you may be experiencing, like those around life story work, transitions, loss and grief, identity, family relationships, handling emotions, and managing challenging behaviour. Consultation sessions are relaxed, yet informative, and they generally last about an hour. All sessions take place online.
If you would like to gain more information about our consultations or to book a session, please contact Jessica Spenceley at jessica.spenceley@coramiac.org.uk