1 / 19

Prospective adoptive parents and professionals in the adoptionprocess

Prospective adoptive parents and professionals in the adoptionprocess. Pia K Eriksson Researching socialworker, PhD student FSKC, Swedish Centre of Excellence on Social Welfare. Outline. Experiences of beeing a researching socialworker two projects ; 2005-2006 and 2008-2009

truda
Download Presentation

Prospective adoptive parents and professionals in the adoptionprocess

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Prospective adoptive parents and professionals in the adoptionprocess Pia K Eriksson Researching socialworker, PhD student FSKC, Swedish Centre of Excellence on Social Welfare

  2. Outline • Experiences of beeing a researching socialworker • twoprojects; 2005-2006 and 2008-2009 • City of Helsinki and the SwedishCentre of Excellence on Social Welfare • The adoption process from a userperspective

  3. Bakground • Social work with adoptive- and fosterfamilies • Adoption councelling: • Assessment of prospective adoptive parents • Preparation of prospective adoptive parents • Follow-up of adopted children • Post-adoption services • Support for adult adoptees and their relatives

  4. Background • Specialized area of social work • Knowledge and practice concentrated • Not in the education • Today few domestic adoptions • Not a part of knowledge in child welfare • International adoption, the adoptiontriangle is not complete

  5. Adoptiontriangle Adoptee Biological parents Adoptiveparents

  6. Adoption research • Concentrated on adopted persons outcomes • Mainly problemfocused • Adjustment, attachment • Physical and mental health • Broader perspectiv, exosystem of adoptivefamily (Palacios 2006) • The professionals involved in the process

  7. Practice research • Researcher part of the practice • Silent knowledge, experience • Make working methods and values visible, reflection • User perspective

  8. Practice research • Research questions and need for research arises from practical work • Motivation • Constant contact with practitioners • Valuable information for practitioners • Implication of results

  9. Practice research • Looking at the familiar • What is new here? • Conceptualise • Silent knowledge, documentation • Documentation opens up for critical reflection • Is this ”common-sense” or specific experience and knowledge?

  10. Research methods • Qualitative study, user perspective • How do prospective adoptive parents experience the international adoption process? • 11 Narrative interviews • Adoptive parents • Persons who pursued an adoption process • ”Tell me about your adoptionprocess” • Analysis of the narratives • Experiences; feelings, knowledge, intuition or belief

  11. The framework and roles of the adoptionprocess • A long bureaucratic process • Personal process (becoming an adoptiveparent) • Background often infertility • Normalizing adoption • Different parenthood

  12. The framework and roles of the adoptionprocess • Process of clienthood (becoming a client) • Usually not wanted role • Loss of control • Becoming an object • Personal matters become public • ”A number”

  13. The experiences of the prospectiveadoptiveparents • Long, unsure and heavy path to walk • Personal and emotional matter • Professionals and their actions play an important role in the process

  14. Experiences of the adoptionprocess • Difficult elements in the process: • Evaluation, assesment stage • Are we good enough? • This is unfair! • My life is in the hands of someone else • Waiting, state of insecurity • Unsure outcome • Unsure time-frame • Your life in the hands of someone else

  15. Emotional roller-coaster • Feelings of • Powerlessness • Uncertainty • Frustration • Hope and disappointment • Anticipation • Joy • Happiness

  16. The professionals in the process • Professionals • Middle-class, parenthood universal matter, emotional issues • Prospective adoptiveparents seen as ”capable”, powerful positions in society • Difficult task, predict the future, parental potential • Assesment is a process of getting to know the applicants

  17. Dialogue • Good experiences in the process are linked to • Dialogue with professionals • Emphatic, broad-minded, reflective • Openness –enough information in all stages • Clientsapproach • The journey • Possibility to personal growth • Goal-oriented • Pending, ”controlling”

  18. Outcomes of the adoptionprocess • No adoptive child • a miscarriage • in need of support • The wanted child • Always comes as a ”surprise” • Might need support

  19. Last words • My journey has only begun! • Thank you!

More Related