Counseling for Birth Parents
Anyone who is considering a personal decision as big as whether to give a baby up for adoption can benefit from speaking with a counselor. In most cases, it is best for a birth parent to seek counseling before making a final decision. If you are a birth parent, a counselor can help you understand exactly what might happen and can help you work through the emotional issues that are involved.
Since you are making a decision that will affect not just your life, but the life of the child and others involved, a counselor will try to help you make the best decision concerning those factors. Often, part of your adoption counseling will involve creating a list of reasons to keep and reasons to give up the baby. The counselor, as someone who is not involved on either side of the adoption, can give objective advice for your situation.
If you choose to keep and raise the child, a counselor can help you sort out such issues as what plans and dreams you have for your own future and how the child will affect them. The counselor will help you consider whether you can finish your education, what support may be available for you, how the child will be taken care of while you work, where you can arrange to live, and other concerns.
If you choose to give the child up for adoption, the counselor will help you consider whether you will be happy with your decision, whether adoption is in the best interest of everyone involved, if the plan sounds possible to achieve, and many other issues. An adoption professional can often give you more objective information that a relative or close friend.
Counseling for Adoptive Parents
Prospective parents may also find adoption counseling helpful. Issues that are necessary to address can include whether both spouses are ready to accept a child into their home and understand and accept the responsibility of raising a child, whether they are prepared to adopt a child with little knowledge of the child’s background, whether they have dealt with their own issues regarding their inability to have a biological child, and whether they have considered adopting a child of a different race or cultural background.
In general, adoption counseling is not overly expensive, and is covered by most health insurance carriers. In order to find out whether this is available in your area, you can check with county and state agencies. Most states require adoptive parents to pay for professional counseling if it is not covered by health insurance and the adoption plan proceeds.
Finding a Counselor
If you are looking for a counselor, a number of resources can help you. Good places to ask for information can include family planning centers, crisis pregnancy centers, and school guidance offices. You may also be able to learn more by asking an attorney, physician or health care provider, or clergy member whom you trust.
Searching online or with a phone book for adoption counseling can also be useful. You may have the most success in searching under categories like family counselors, mental health services, social and human services, certified social workers, and psychologists.
By Kristin Cleveland
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