Training and Workshops

Designed for friends, family and other significant people within an adopter’s support network. The half day workshop will raise their awareness and understanding of the adoption process, the needs of adopted children and how they can offer the most effective help and support to their friends or relatives on their way to becoming adoptive parents.

“Very informative, answered lots of questions and good to meet other families with similar concerns. Really glad we attended!”

Explores sibling placements to help you to consider meeting the needs of more than one child. The half-day session focuses on key issues to consider for siblings within the context of adoption and highlights strategies for managing anticipated difficulties.

“We really got a lot out of the workshop and now feel even more determined to adopt a sibling group”

Aims to support experienced adopters build upon their existing knowledge of adoption. We will facilitate discussions around the rewards, challenges and reality of adopting for a second time, as well as providing adopters with ideas and practical tools to begin to prepare their child for the arrival of a new sibling.

For prospective adopters who have existing children - birth, adopted, stepchildren - in the family. The aim is to help participants to understand how their children will be involved in the adoption process. Also offers useful tools and strategies to help prepare an existing child and includes a young person’s first-hand experience of when her siblings joined the family.

Offers a ‘Theraplay’ taster in a relaxed and fun setting, introducing the concept of therapeutic play to help build continual attachment between adopters and their child. The workshop looks at both directive ‘Theraplay’ and non-directive ‘Filial Play’. The aim of the session is to help adoptive parents understand how therapeutic play can enhance attachment, trust, self-esteem and playfulness, empowering them to use the techniques within daily routines.

“Everything was well covered in this workshop with the team on hand to answer specific questions… Would be great to bring other family members and friends!”

SafeBase is a therapeutic parenting programme for adoptive families. It explores the impact of loss and trauma on a child's attachment and uses Theraplay principles and activities to provide a framework for parents to engage with their child in a fun way. It also helps parents to become more sensitively attuned when responding to their child.

“Great trainers who listened and responded to all with empathy.” 

Following Richard Rose’s model for Therapeutic Life Story Work, designed to support children and young people to access information about their past so that they can internalise what this means for them in their present.

Therapeutic Life Story Work involves the child or young person’s carer throughout the intervention, focusing on mutual understandings, strengthening attachment and enabling the therapeutic journey to continue beyond the intervention.

Adoption Focus Life Story workers have completed a Diploma in Therapeutic Life Story Work and receive regular supervision. We can tailor the service to meet the specific needs of a child or family.

Adopted children may not receive a Life Story Book or the information to support their parents in talking to them about their life story and birth family – or perhaps the information is inadequate or inappropriate. We can create or update existing Life Story Books or provide a consultation service to support others to do so.

Aimed at families who would like some guidance around how to start conversations about adoption with their child/children and offers useful tips around games, stories and other practical resources that can help.

Tailored to the needs of each family, this is one-to-one support with an experienced worker to enable adopters to talk about confidential and personal issues. Advice about appropriate tools, techniques and strategies are available during the two hour session. If further support is helpful, adopters may be offered more drop-in sessions or given information about making a referral to our Adoption Support service.