Intervention with Adoptees and Their
Families: Part 2/
Interventia cu cei adoptati si cu
familiile lor: Partea a doua
Becky Bernstein, MSSA, LISW-S
Holli Ritzenthaler, MSSA, LISW-S
OhioGuidestone
Agenda
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Review of the Intervention Goals/
Revederea obiectivelor interventiei
Relational Paradigm of Intervention/
Paradigma relationala in interventie
Intervention Techniques / Tehnici de
interventie
Main Goals of Intervention with Adoptive Families/ Scopurile
principale ale interventiei cu familiile adoptive
1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
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Attachment/ Atasamentul
Stabilize child in the family and build relationships/ Stabilizarea copilului in
familie si construirea relatiilor
Family Identity Development/ Dezvoltarea identitatii familiei
Normalize/reframe feelings of ambivalence/ Normalizarea si redefinirea
sentimentelor de ambivalenta
Help family system re-stabilize & find new equilibrium/ Sprijinirea sistemului
familiei sa se restabileasca si sa-si gaseasca un nou echilibru
Validate parent’s decision to adopt/ Validarea deciziei parintelui de a adopta
Grief & Loss/ Suferinta si pierdere
Both child and family/ Atat copilul cat si familia
Communication/ Comunicarea
Open and honest about history, risks & strengths/ Deschisa si onesta cu privire
la istoric, riscuri si aspecte pozitive
Empathy & Understanding/ Empatie si intelegere
Child’s emotional & behavioral challenges/ Provocari emotionale si
comportamentale ale copilului
Core Issues & all adoption constellation members/ Teme principale la toti
membrii constelatiei adoptiei
Foundational Principles of Intervention/
Principii fundamentale ale interventiei
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The parent is the primary agent of change/ Parintele este agentul
primar al schimbarii
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The role of the therapist is to serve as a bridge between the child
and parent’s experiences/ Rolul terapeutului este acela de punte
intre experienta copilului si aceea a parintelui
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Interventions are flexible, responsive and meet all family
members where they are/ Interventiile trebuie sa fie flexibile,
responsive si sa vina in intampinarea tuturor membrilor familiei,
in punctul in care se afla ei
Relationships are the key to success/ Relatiile sunt cheia
succesului
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Relational Paradigm of Intervention/
Paradigma relationala in interventie

Every session SHOULD address 3 critical relationships/ Fiecare
sedinta TREBUIE sa abordeze 3 relatii critice
1.
Therapist – Child/ Terapeut- copil
2.
Parent – Child/ Parinte - copil
3.
Therapist – Parent/ Terapeut- parinte
*Sessions may also include siblings, extended family and other
caregivers/ Sedintele pot include si fratriile, familia extinsa sau
alte persoane cu responsabilitati in ingrijirea copilului
Effective, well-rounded intervention:/
Interventie eficienta
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Empowers- encouragement of independent problem solving/
Capaciteaza- incurajarea solutionarii independente a problemelor
Builds on strengths- starting where the client is and building on
things they already possess/do well/Construieste bazat pe
punctele forte- incepe in punctul in care se afla clientul si
construieste mai departe mergand pe lucrurile pe care acesta le
face bine
Focuses on the family- children learn what they live!/ Se
centreaza pe familie- copiii invata ceea ce traiesc! (din experienta)
Improves parent-child relationship- this relationship is the
foundation for all social-emotional development/ Amelioreaza
relatia parinte-copil- aceasta relatie este fundamentul oricarei
dezvoltari socio-emotionale
Uses reflection- assists in developing understanding and insight
into problems/issues/ Foloseste reflectia- asista dezvoltarea
intelegerii si a revelatiilor asupra unor probleme sau teme
Effective, well-rounded intervention:/
Interventia eficienta
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Provides empathy- promotes respect for the client and builds
rapport/ Asigura empatie- promoveaza respectul fata de client si
construieste raportari
Promotes social play- play is the foundation for learning and
relationship skills/ Promoveaza jocul social- jocul este
fundamental pentru deprinderile de invatare si relationare
Uses creative techniques- therapeutic story-telling, art and play
therapy/ Foloseste tehnici creative – povestiri terapeutice,
artterapie si terapie prin joc
Educates- interpreting behavior and development, parenting
techniques/ Educa- interpretarea comportamentului si a dezvoltarii,
tehnici parentale
Provides modeling and coaching- allows for teaching and
practicing of techniques/ Asigura modelarea si coachingul
(antrenarea)- ingaduie invatarea si practicarea tehnicilor
1. Therapist-Child Intervention/
Interventia terapeut-copil
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The Power of Play/ puterea jocului
 “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than
in a year of conversation.”/ “Poti descoperi mai multe despre o
persoana intr-o ora de joc decat poti descoperi intr-un an de
conversatie”
~Plato
 Play is how children explore, learn, problem solve and socialize/
Jocul arata modul in care copilul exploreaza, invata,
solutioneaza probleme si socializeaza
 Fosters warm and responsive relationships/ Promoveaza
caldura si responsivitate in relatii
 Increases communication/ Sporeste comunicarea
 Promotes insight/ Promoveaza intelegerea de tipul revelatiilor
 Provides opportunity for repeating OR correcting past
experiences/ Asigura oportunitati pentru repetarea sau
corectarea experientelor trecute
1. Therapist – Child Intervention/
Interventia terapeut-copil
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Child-Directed Play / Jocul directionat spre copil
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The goal is to follow the child’s lead to strengthen their ability to solve problems
and make positive choices/ Scopul este de a urmari sporirea capacitatii copilului
de a rezolva probleme si de a face alegeri pozitive
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The child leads the play interaction/ Copilul conduce interactiunile in joc
 Freedom to explore and express/ Libertatea de a explora si exprima
 Openly communicate their thoughts, feelings and ideas/ Comunicare
deschisa a gandurilor, sentimentelor si ideilor
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The therapist allows the child to lead without criticism or interpretation/
Terapeutul ingaduie copilului sa preia conducerea fara criticism sau interpretari
 Focuses on strengths/ Se centreaza pe punctele forte
 Reflects feelings to promote insight/ Reflecta trairi care promoveaza
revelatiile;
 Recognizes the power of total acceptance of the child/ Recunoaste puterea
acceptarii totale a copilului;
 Stays in the moment/ Se centreaza pe moment;
Child-Directed Interventions/
Interventii directionate spre copil
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Follow the child’s lead/ Urmeaza conducerea facuta de copil
 View the world as the child does/ Vede lumea cu ochii copilului
 Get on the child’s level/ Ajunge la nivelul copilului
 Interact and communicate like the child/ Interactioneaza si
comunica la fel ca si copilul
 Make a conscious effort to understand the world as the child
does/ Face eforturi constiente pt a intelege lumea in felul
copilului
 Respond to the child in a way that is compatible with their activity
and intention/ Raspunde copilului intr-un mod compatibil cu
intentiile si activitatile acestuia
 Animation/ Animatie (insufleteste)
 Be more Interesting than distractions/ Mai mult sa starneasca
interesul decat sa distraga
When in doubt IMITATE/ Cand ai dubii, IMITA
Therapist-Directed Interventions/ Interventii
directionate de terapeut
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Safety and Security/ Siguranta si securitatea
 Practice/Role-Play use of personal safety skills/ Practicarea/ jocul de rol
valorizand deprinderile personale de siguranta
Coping and Social Skill Building/ Coping si construirea deprinderilor
sociale
 Deep Breathing - smell the cookie and blow out the candles or Bubbles for
small children/ Respira adanc – miroase prajiturile si sufla lumanarile sau
balonasele pentru copiii mici;
 Visualization and Imagery – guide child through imagining a “Happy or
Safe Place”/ Vizualizare si imaginare - ghideaza copilul sa-si imagineze
“un loc fericit si sigur”
 Progressive Relaxation/ Relaxare progresiva
 Mandalas/ Mandale
Feeling Identification and Expression/ Trairea identificarii si a exprimarii
 Tell or draw a time when you felt (insert feeling)/ Spune sau deseneaza
momentul cand ai simtit (insereaza trairile)
 Drawings for power/ Desene care sa sporeasca puterea
1. Therapist-Child Intervention /
Interventia terapeut-copil
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Group Practice:/ Practica de grup
 Create a picture of something scary/ Creaza
o imagine infricosatoare
 Crumple and Destroy/ Aduna-o si distruge-o
 Create a picture of something Happy or
Peaceful/ Creaza imaginea a ceva fericit si
calm;
2. Parent-Child Intervention/
Interventia parinte-copil
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Modeling/ Modelare
Coaching and Guidance/Coaching (antrenare) si ghidare
Maintenance and Support/ Mentinere si sprijin
Building Attachment/ Construirea atasamentului
 Build trust, security and warmth between adoptive
family members/ Construieste incredere, siguranta si
caldura intre membrii familiei adoptive
 Repair maladaptive attachment patterns, behavior and
history/ Repara tiparele maladaptative de atasament,
comportament si istoric
Promoting Attachment/
Promovarea atasamentului
How/ Cum
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Positive interaction cycle/
Ciclul intercatiunilor pozitive
Claiming behaviors/
Comportamentele
reclamate
Eye contact/ Contact cu
ochii
Appropriate touch/ Atingeri
adecvate
Open Communication/
Comunicare deschisa
When/ Cand
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When the Child is calm &
open/ Cand copilul e calm
si deschis
 Fear/ Teama
 Fatigue/ Oboseala
 Illness/ Boala
Theraplay (Jernberg & Booth)/
Joc terapeutic
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Theraplay looks to the healthy parent-child interactions as a guide./
Jocul terapeutic vede interactiunile sanatoase dintre parinte-copil ca
pe un ghid
Use of intimate, physical, personal, focused fun!/ Foloseste
amuzamentul in intimitate, in intercatiuni fizice, personale
Adult directed, structured but responsive./ Directionat spre adult,
structurat dar responsiv
Goals: / Scopuri
1.Enhance attachment/ Sporeste atasamentul
4. Improve regulation/ Amelioreaza reglarile
2. Build trust / Construieste increderea
5. Improve Self-esteem/ Sporeste stima de sine
3. Replacement of negative behavioral cycles/ Inlocuieste ciclurile
comportamentale negative
Theraplay/ Jocul terapeutic
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Through Theraplay, parent and child become eager to please,
protect, and cherish one another./ Prin joc terapeutic parintele si
copilul devin dornici sa-si faca placere, sa se protejeze si sa se
valorizeze unul pe celalalt
Theraplay breaks apart the negative interactional cycle and
replaces it with a new cycle composed of enjoyment, optimism
and acceptance./ Jocul terapeutic rupe ciclul interactional negativ
si-l inlocuieste cu un nou ciclu compus din bucurie, optimism,
acceptare
Theraplay fortifies children with a sturdy sense of self./ Jocul
terapeutic fortifica copilul dandu-i un puternic sens al sinelui
Theraplay provides the building blocks for attunement in the
parent-child relationship/ Jocul terapeutic asigura caramizile care
construiesc sincronizarea in relatia parinte-copil.
Theraplay/ Jocul terapeutic
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Sample Theraplay Activities/ Activitati simple de joc
terapeutic
 Take turns applying lotion to each other/ Pe rand isi
aplica diferite lotiuni unul altuia
 Build something together with blocks/ Construiesc
impreuna ceva din cuburi
 Blow up a balloon, create a game and play together/
Umfla baloane, creaza jocuri si se joaca impreuna
 Check ups/ Verifica
 Take turns doing something silly to make each other
laugh/ Pe rand fac lucruri caraghioase menite sa-l
faca pe celalalt sa rada
3. Parent-Therapist Intervention/
Interventia parinte-terapeut
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Active Listening/ Ascultare activa
Normalizing/ Normalizare
Psychoeducation/ Psihoeducatie
Examining Family of Origin/ Examinarea familiei de
origine
Explore Grief and Loss/ Explorarea suferintei si a
pierderilor
Identify Current Level of Openness and process
anxiety/fears/ Identificarea nivelului curent de deschidere
si procesele de anxietate/frica
3. Parent-Therapist Intervention/
Interventiile parinte- terapeut
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Addressing parental self care/ Abordarea grijii de
sine a parintelui
 How do you know when you need to take a break?/
Cum stii cand ai nevoie de o pauza?
 Do you have supports to help when you need a
break?/ Ai la indemana un sprijin atunci cand ai
nevoie de o pauza?
 What do you do to take care of yourself daily?/ Ce faci
pt a avea grija de tine insuti zi de zi?
 Scheduling self care time with parents/ Construirea
unui orar al momentelor in care parintii sa se
ingrijeasca de ei insisi
3. Parent-Therapist Intervention/
Interventia parinte-terapeut
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Increase parental insight into the child’s experiences (Being
the bridge)/ Sporeste revelatiile parentale cu privire la
experientele copilului (rolul de punte)
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How does the environment impact the child’s mood and
behavior/ Modul in care mediul influenteaza starea
emotionala si comportamentul copilului
Explore the child’s experiences with stressful situations or
trauma and how they understand these/ Exploreaza
experientele stresante sau traumatice ale copilului si modul
in care le intelege parintele
Gain understanding of how the child views their world/
Castiga mai multa intelegere cu privire la modul in care
copilul vede lumea
3. Parent-Therapist Intervention/
Interventia parinte-terapeut
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Genograms and Ecomaps/ Genograme si ecomape
Rules, routine, discipline, praise, and rewards/ Reguli,
rutini, desciplina, premieri si recompense
 Help parents develop daily or nightly nurturing routines
for client/ Ajuta parintii sa dezvolte rutine de ‘hranire’ zi
si noapte a clientului
 Develop charts or reward systems for client/ Dezvolta
sisteme de inregistrare si recompensa pt client
 Documenting behaviors to identify triggers, cycles, or
patterns/ Sprijina comportamente de identificare a
provocarilor, a ciclurilor sau tiparelor
 Creating family rules/ Creaza reguli de familie
Family Interventions/ Interventie cu familia
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Adoption is a restructuring process where a new person enters the family,
alters the equilibrium and brings about change for every member of the
system/ Adoptia este un proces de restructurare in care o noua persoana
intra in familie, altereaza echilibrul si impune schimbari pentru fiecare
membru din sistem
Intervention to address family formation should work to promote:/
Interventiile menite sa abordeze formarea familiei trebuie sa promoveze:
 Entitlement and claiming behaviors/ Comportamente de legitimare
(de asumare a drepturilor) si reclamare
 Acknowledgment of child and family history/ Recunoasterea
istoricului familiei si a copilului
 Insight into intergenerational patterns/ Revelatii (intelegeri) ale
tiparelor intergenerationale
 Identification of strengths and positive characteristics/ Identificarea
si intarirea caracteristicilor pozitive
Family Interventions/ Interventii cu
familia
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Family Portrait/ Portretul familiei
 Therapist passes out paper and drawing supplies/ Terapeutul paseaza
hartii si desene
 Asks adoptee and family members to draw a picture of their family/ Cere
adoptatului si membrilor familiei sa deseneze familia lor
 Each person then describes their family portrait/ Fiecare membru
descrie portretul familiei
 Allows therapist, client & family to explore:/ Ingaduie terapeutului,
clientului si familiei sa exploreze:
 Family boundaries/ Limitele familiei
 Subsystems/ Subsistemele
 Attachment relationships/ Relatiile de atasament
 Interpersonal communication patterns/ Tipare de comunicare
interpersonala
 Each members perception of family/ Perceptia fiecarui membru al
familiei cu privire la familie
Family Interventions/ Interventii
cu familia
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Life Map/ Harta vietii
 Similar to a Life Book, but set up like a road on a board game/ Similar cu
cartea vietii dar figureaza in joc ceva ca o cale
 Therapist & adoptee make a chronological outline of child’s life
including:/ Terapeutul si adoptatul structureaza o constructie cronologica
a vietiui copilului incluzand:
 All places the child lived/ Toate locurile unde a trait copilul
 Dates of each transition/ Datele momentelor de tranzitie
 Names of significant people/ Numele persoanelor semnificative
 Child illustrates each event in symbolic way of their choosing/ Copilul
ilustreaza simbolic, cum vrea el, fiecare eveniment
 Adoptive family actively joins in when the map is at the point of
placement in their home/ Familia adoptiva participa activ cand harta
ajunge la momentul plasamentului in familie
Life Map/ Harta vietii
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Example
Group Exercise/ Exercitiu de
grup
Select a child or family you work with and
complete a Family Portrait or Life Map/
Alege un copil sau o familie cu care lucrezi si
completeaza portretul familiei sau harta vietii
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Acknowledgements/
Recunoastere
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Portions of the this presentation completed in
collaboration with Zoë Breen Wood, Ph. D.,
Case Western Reserve University Mandel
School of Applied Social Sciences and the
Adoption PARTners Program./ Parti din
aceasta prezentare au fost completate in
colaborare cu Zoë Breen Wood, Ph. D., Case
Western Reserve University Mandel School
of Applied Social Sciences and the Adoption
PARTners Program.