Adoption Support Information for Families

I’d like therapeutic support for my adopted child, can Conatus help?

Most certainly, Conatus works with many adoptive families and children living with permanent carers under Special Guardianship Orders (known as SGO’s).          The good news is that there is financial support available to fund therapy for adoptive and SGO families, through the UK Government’s Adoption Support Fund (“The ASF”).
 
Conatus takes the same approach to all families who contact us: we look to offer an assessment to identify current concerns and difficulties that indicates potential therapies and interventions to help; our recommendations are based on our clinical judgement, information and evidence demonstrating that such therapies are likely to be effective, e.g. by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NIHCE) and research papers in mental health journals that have been reviewed by experienced clinicians in the UK and throughout the world.
 
This said, the Adoption Support Fund specifies what therapeutic supports it will fund. The focus is very much on supporting individuals and their families with difficulties relating to attachment and trauma. For more information see the First4Adoption website www.first4adoption.org.uk.

The process towards getting support through the ASF is for you to contact the Adoption Agency in your area. AA’s have the role of supporting families after adoption. What they can offer will depend on the agency, but they all have a key role in helping families to obtain support from specialist practices such as Conatus.

The Adoption Agency will hear your concerns and make an assessment of needs. You can mention Conatus to them, of course! The support social worker will recommend a therapeutic approach or a specialist assessment to you.