Adoption-Competent Organizations & Professionals

Many organizations claim to support families dealing with trauma, and plenty advertise themselves as “trauma-informed.” But that doesn’t always translate into adoption-competent care—or real help for families raising kids with attachment struggles like Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). This page highlights the organizations that stand apart, offering genuine expertise in adoption, foster, and kinship care. This section highlights advocacy organizations, therapy models, adoption-competent practitioners, and treatment centers that focus on attachment and complex trauma. These listings are included because other families have found them helpful, but inclusion here is for awareness only — a place to start. Families should research carefully and decide what fits their child’s specific needs.

• Attach Families, Inc
  Provides a private online support group, a 24/7 crisis line, advocacy, and free resources on their website.
• Attachment & Trauma Network, Inc
  Provides webinars and online training and educational materials for parents and professionals.
• Empowered to Connect
  Provides training, videos, book clubs, a podcast, and other resources.
• NVRNorthHampton
  Provides NVR training, resources, and educational materials.
• ParentalRights.org
  Works to pass legislation that will protect families by preserving parental rights, stopping legislation that endangers those rights, and generally raises awareness of these issues in the public eye.
• The Post Institute
  Provides training, an online community, personal coaching, parenting groups, books, and other resources.
• RAD Advocates
  Provides training, coaching, advocacy, an annual conference, and educational materials and resources.
• RAD Sibs
  Provides an online community, resources, and support groups for siblings of RAD kids.
• Raddish Ranch
  Offers training, respite, and camps as well as several books on RAD.
• ILUME Childhood and Family
  Offers retreats, bonding programs and respite.
• Families Rising (formerly NACAC)
  Supports adoptive, foster, and kinship families through training, advocacy, and education.
• Teen Challenge
  Over 220 faith-based addiction recovery, residential programs for teens and adults. Requirements and costs vary depending on the program.
• Help One Child
  Peer led support groups and training.
• Wasatch International Adoptions
  Provides regulated, legal “second chance” adoption services for children who are not thriving in their adoptive homes.
• The Center for Family Development
  Specializes in the treatment of adopted and foster families with trauma and attachment disorder.
• Formed Families Forward
  Offers resources and peer support for families formed through foster care, adoption, and kinship care. If you’re local to this organization (Fairfax, VA) check out their great Cakes program that offers free decorated cakes for kids in foster care, kinship care, or adoptive homes.
• Interwoven Connections
  Provides education, advocacy, and community to the tapestry of families connected by adoption and kinship care.
• Lifespan Trauma Consulting with Forrest Lien
  Offers assessment, court expert testimony, and advocacy.
• Samantha Moe and Associates
  Parent coaching for kids with intense behavioral needs and experience with Reactive Attachment Disorder.

Treatment Providers

• Deborah Hage, MSW
  Adoption Therapist, Parent Coach, Family Therapist. Deborah sees her role as that of a coach for adoptive parents. Highly recommended by other families.
• Sally Gordan, LCSW
  Specializes in ILF Neurofeedback for adoptive families. Highly recommended by other families.
• Full Circle Family Counseling
  Tracey Turner, MA. NC-MHCS BC-DMT provides parent coaching and therapy specializing in working with adopted children. Highly recommended by other families.
• New Hope Counseling Services, P.A.
  Specialized treatment for early childhood trauma and EMDR. Highly recommended by other families.
• Youth of Vision Academy
  Parents have described YOVA as an accessible, behavior-focused residential program in Jamaica that has been helpful. (Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement. I encourage families to research thoroughly before considering any program.)
• Chaddock treatment facility
  Developmental Trauma and Attachment Program is widely known to be successful for children with RAD. This may be cost prohibitive for many.
• Beatitude House Counseling Center
  Therapy services have been highly recommended by many families and other professionals who work with adopted children.
• Clearview Theraputic Resources
  Therapy services have been highly recommended by many families and other professionals who work with adopted children.
• Attachment Institute of New England
  Specialized treatment for kids who have spent time in foster care or orphanages or been adopted.
• Crenshaw Inc Attachment and Trauma Therapy
  Specialized psychotherapy services for children with early trauma and attachment disturbances who have often been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD).

I can’t vouch for all the providers included in these lists, but they have been helpful to me and others. Use these as a starting point and always do your own due diligence.

• Online Resource Directory(Attachment and Trauma Network, ATN)
  Excellent search features based on location, category (therapists, treatment programs, special education resources, etc.) and specifically filtered for Reactive Attachment Disorder.
• Attachment Focused Therapist listing
  Beware that “attachment focused” does not necessarily mean they understand or have experience treating RAD. It’s important to ask if they have experience with adoption and RAD and listen carefully to their answer.
• Attachment Therapist Lookup (Nancy Thomas Parenting)
  Search by US state, Canada, or England. Also, there’s a helpful star rating from other parents for each provider.
• Formed Families Forward
  Extensive searchable resource list across multiple categories.
• Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP) practitioners
  Searchable database.

Didn’t find what you are looking for? Check out: Conferences & Retreats for Foster, Adoptive, & Kinship Caregivers