Creating a Family Adoption & Foster Care Education

Adopting a baby or child brings great joys and also challenges. The transition home as a newly adopted family can be stressful and post-adoption depression is not uncommon. In this course, we interview Dr. Karen Foli, Director of the Ph.D. in Nursing Program at Purdue University School of Nursing. She is a leading researcher in the post-adoption transition and is the co-author of Post Adoption Blues and Nursing Care of Adoption and Kinship Families, which received the American Psychiatric Nurses Association 2018 Award for Media.

This course covers the following topics:

• What are some of the expected emotions for new adoptive families?
• How do the stresses of newly adopted families differ from a family that gives birth to their child?
• Does the pre-adoption process help or hurt this transition?
• How does the experience change depending on the type of adoption?
• What are some common stresses when adopting a newborn?
• What are some feelings that come up about birth parents and their role in the new family structure?
• What are some common stresses when adopting a child past infancy?
• How to handle negative or outdated reactions about adoption by our extended family and friends?
• Impact of infertility on post-adoption feelings and transitioning into a new family formed by adoption.
• What is post adoption depression?
• What are the symptoms?
• How common is post-adoption depression?
• Researchers found similar levels of anxiety or depressive symptoms in biological and adoptive mothers. 
• Can fathers also have post-adoption depression?
• Who is at risk for post-adoption depression? Are there ways to predict which people are more prone to post-adoption depression?
• Does the fact that adoptive parents have wanted this (actively chosen to be parents) help them cope in the transition to adoptive parenthood?
• How can post-adoption depression impact parenting?
• What are some steps to take to prevent post-adoption depression?
• What should you do if you think you are suffering from post-adoption depression?
• How can we help parents tap into their strengths to have a smoother transition into adoptive parenting?

*Your course will remain active for 180 days from purchase date.