Young children who have adoption and trauma as a part of their history are entering treatment centers at younger and younger ages. Since children heal best within a family system, it becomes crucial that a program replicate a family. This workshop will describe how the Seven Core issues of adoption and the styles of attachment mesh and how the child and the family must each address those concepts in order to create a healthy unit.

Participants will be able to: 1) Define relational therapy; 2) Enumerate three expectations a treatment program might have of an adoptive family; 3) List three signs that a program is adoption competent.