November 8, 2022, 10:00 am to 11:30 am CT

Adding a new child to a family system— through birth, adoption, kinship care, or foster care will make a splash in any family, no matter what! Everybody has a concept of what they believe fostering or adopting a child will look like. Some imagine a child beaming from ear to ear, sitting at the kitchen table, talking out his problems, and moving boldly toward a bright new future. Some imagine an angry child dragging in a lifetime of baggage that she’ll throw destructively around a home that was once structured and stable.

When you signed up for this journey, no one told you there would be so many detours. It’s important to remember that talking about the hard does not discount the good. Adoption is a family experience. It is a lifelong, intergenerational process that unites the triad of birth families, adoptees, and adoptive families forever. Understanding the emotional impacts and recognizing the core issues in fostering and adoption—and having realistic expectations—is one intervention that can assist families with mitigating the residual effects of the adoption experience.

This training explores how the family dynamic can shift when fostering or adoption occurs. It will uncover experiences and core topics of foster and adoptive families such as vicarious trauma, secondary traumatic stress, and post-adoption depression in the context of how they impact the family system. Participants will reflect on their own experiences, learn how to navigate blind spots that can hinder healing and growth, and deep dive into the intensive preparations that have proven to be successful in navigating the foster and adoption journey. Training will accentuate the importance of caring for the entire family, rather than simply focusing on the trauma-related needs of the adopted child, for long-term change to occur.

Speaker

Nikki and Torrey CarrollTORREY E. CARROLL, MA, LPC + NIKKI M. CARROLL, MA, LPC FOUNDERS, THE TNC PSYCHOTHERAPY GROUP, PLLC and COACHABLEWORKS™

Partners in life and work, parents, and licensed psychotherapists. Nikki and Torrey Carroll believe in the redemptive power of relationships. They have championed the cause for more than a decade by walking alongside individuals, couples and family systems as they heal and grow.

The Carrolls are national speakers and trainers and have extensive experience collaborating with non-profit organizations, agencies, schools, and community ambassadors to develop programming that revitalizes and enriches individuals and family systems. Their specializations include marriage and family therapy, crisis intervention, trauma-informed care, and adoption-sensitive therapy, including parenting skills within the adoption triad and transracial adoption issues. Their clinical experience extends to working with individuals of all ages navigating the experiences of life.

Nikki and Torrey are founding Board members of Relationships First™ and Safe Conversations® Master Trainers. They have been featured in a number of publications and news media including Success Magazine, WFAA’s Daybreak, and CBS’s Plugged Into DFW, and co-hosted the Safe Conversations® Practice and Share DVD alongside Imago relationship therapy co-creators.

Prior to becoming Licensed Professional Counselors, Nikki and Torrey successfully managed a 20-year career within corporate America. Nikki holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University, a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling and a Master of Arts degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Amberton University. Torrey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from The University of Texas at Dallas, a Master of Arts degree in Professional Counseling, and a Master of Arts Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Amberton University.

The Carrolls have been married for twenty-two years. Their journey has been filled with rich experiences that have varied from softly spoken messages to loud and obnoxious life lessons on how to manage and maintain a healthy marriage. The Carrolls are the founders of The TNC Psychotherapy Group, PLLC, and CoachableWorks™. They reside in a small town just outside of Dallas, Texas and call it an honor to be the parents of two ‘wonder-filled’ children. As a husband, wife, and parents of two, they bring extensive life experience and a heart for supporting and walking with individuals and families in the adoption and foster care constellation.

FAQs

Are Continuing Education Units (CEUs) provided through this training?

We are happy to offer .15 social work and counseling CEUs. Certificates of Completion of 1.5 contact hours is also available for all attendees.

Is this event virtual?

Yes.  The event will be broadcast on ZOOM.

Will the event be recorded?

No

Where can I find other Gladney University trainings?

Visit GladneyUniversity.com for all upcoming trainings. You can also sign up to be notified by email.

Register for A Family Affair: The Impact of Foster Care and Adoption on the Family System