Live Everyday

. There are many different approaches therapists use as forms of intervention and modalities of work.  Oftentimes, therapists are eclectic and use a variety of different techniques and approaches to getting to healing and understanding.     . IAMAdoptee asked JaeHee Chung Sherman, LCSW to explain the various common modalities many clinicians use in their work.  […]

Considering seeking counseling or therapy and wondering how to go about it? IAMAdoptee reached out to three therapists to help you navigate the process of finding someone for you.  This article was originally published as a February 2020 blog post by Katie Bozek, Ph.D., LMFT for the Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network (KAAN). It […]

  During my first year of postgraduate training in Family and Couples Therapy, my supervisor said something so simple and yet so surprising that it permanently shifted my sense of self.  I was working with a couple that had been struggling with trust, closeness and commitment.  My supervisor advised “Kacy, think about romantic love in […]

Nearly 11 years ago, I presented a workshop at the KAAN conference about navigating attachment, intimate partner(s) relationships and love.  It was an extremely memorable experience, predominantly because I went into labor (5 weeks early) on the car ride home.  Everything ended up being fine but I will forever associate these themes of attachment with […]

    IAMAdoptee sat down with Chaitra Witra-Leiker and had the opportunity to more deeply understand the Adoption and Adverse Childhood Experiences Score.       Darci Siegel: My name is Darci Siegel, I use she/her pronouns, and I am a content developer with IAMAdoptee. I’m excited to sit with Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker, licensed psychologist […]

The Dunbar number suggests that most people’s brains can handle 150 casual relationships, 15 close friendships and 5 best friends. – Frost Science Museum, Miami FL   I am quick to smile, it’s a nervous habit and the most comfortable of masks.  But.. I cry when I get angry I cry when I am sad […]

IAMAdoptee Presents: The Wholistic Healer Spotlight Series WHOLISTIC HEALER [hōˈlistik hēlər] noun A “wholistic” intercountry adoptee health practitioner that employs an alternative variety of intercountry adoptee-centered wellness techniques to help adoptees navigate their health and wellness journey, specifically honing in on the mind-body connection. – This series, featuring intercountry adoptee wellness practitioners, aims to provide […]

Wholistic Healer Spotlight: Anna Grundström Anna Grundström is an Indonesian adoptee and BodyMind Movement Facilitator, dancer and artist who works to help people with the emotional tools to navigate transitions and changes in life. Anna’s personal experience as an artist has amplified the fact that creative self-expression such as movement, art, and writing serve as […]

Wholistic Healer Spotlight: Laura Cerrano Laura Cerrano is an adoptee from Bogotá, Colombia. She is second generation of Certified Feng Shui Masters and first generation Certified Usui Reiki Master within her family. Laura advises and helps thousands on issues of personal, professional, and spiritual transformation. Her unique approach to Feng Shui has been credited with reducing […]

Wholistic Healer Spotlight: Amelia Sun Langkusch Amelia Sun Langkusch is an intercountry adoptee born in Iksan, South Korea, and raised as an only child in Laguna Beach, California. In 2018, she reunited with my birth mother and half brother during her first trip back home to South Korea. Following her birth family reunion, she began […]

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Wellness and being adopted IAMAdoptee reached out to a group of mental health professionals to help us think about ways being adopted might particularly impact our well-being during this COVID19 pandemic.  Even as restrictions are starting to lift in various regions of the world, the emotional impact lingers in ways we have yet to anticipate.  […]

Q&A with Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker and IAMAdoptee contributing editor, Emma    Q: COVID-19 might trigger some latent issues for adoptees in particular, for example with challenges surrounding food and food scarcity. People are posting all over social media about grocery shopping, being stocked, or having anxiety of not having enough. Some are making grand elaborate meals. Others […]

Part 2 with Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker and IAMAdoptee contributing editor, Emma Click here to read Part I Q: How does this current health pandemic have the potential to exacerbate a lack of or strengthen our sense of community and belonging? Chaitra: I feel like this is kind of the same as all of the other […]

Part 3 with Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker and IAMAdoptee contributing editor, Emma Click to read Parts I & II Q: Can you lend your expertise on a few scenarios that might be particular to the international adoptee community as it pertains to attachment and family? Scenario 1: There are a lot of college students, young adult adoptees, […]

  Holidays As Adoptees This article presents a video conversation with international adoptees Katie Naftzger, LICSW and Kathy Sacco, LCSW and their wisdom on the challenges, the opportunities, the tough parts and the ways we can authentically navigate the holiday season. IAMAdoptee is grateful to all of you who shared your thoughts on how being adopted has impacted the way […]

What Does AAPI Month Mean to Me? Personal perspectives and reflections—edited from a conversation with Joy Lieberthal Rho, co-founder of IAMAdoptee, social worker and therapist, and Glenn Morey, filmmaker and co-creator of the Side by Side project Recorded on 5-6-2024 Learn More About the Side by Side Project Glenn Morey: It’s AAPI heritage month. I remember this […]

“They may be idols, but they are sentient beings who need the same basic things all humans need.” – Joy Lieberthal Rho IAMAdoptee Co-Founder Joy Lieberthal Rho discusses K-Pop sensation “TWICE,” mental health, and transparency,  in Jae-Ha Kim’s recent Today News article “TWICE is determined to keep rising — but they’ll never stop having fun.“ […]

  “Do you know BTS?” – Min YoonGi, SUGA     Finding Healing One Song at a Time by IAA Co-Founder, Joy Lieberthal Rho   My first favorite song of BTS was “Idol”, the sound of Korean traditional instruments in a pop song caught my ears.  Yet, when a dear big sister/friend of mine asked […]

“What do you want to be when you grow up my love?,” I ask my little one. He says without hesitation, “I want to be a father.”   Too often in adoption, we can be very birthmother centered, and I am guilty of that too.  She has been a presence almost all of my adult […]