Who is it for?

Individuals or couples who are adopting need to have a psychosocial evaluation to assess their emotional and mental stability, and readiness to adopt and parent a child, in addition to/as part of their home study. Every adoption agency has its own specific procedures surrounding the evaluation so we work directly with that agency contact person.

What does it test?

Although each agency has different requirements, every evaluation requires the assessment of psychological factors such as personality, emotional awareness, the ability to manage one's emotions, parenting style, and overall interpersonal skills.

What is the process?

The evaluation includes a clinical interview with each prospective parent, and the administration of psychological test specific to the agency's request, such as the PAI/MMPI with an assessment of their relationship and parenting ability. 

How is it used?

Adoption psychosocial evaluations are to evaluate each prospective parent's candidacy for adoption, and to address the prospective parents potential for and development of a close and loving relationship with their adopted child. Our goal is the successful adoption of children to capable of loving parents. bot domestically and internationally.

Many adopted children face emotional and behavioral challenges, difficulty attaching to the adopted parents, and PTSD symptoms when trauma has occurred. Adoptive parents need to be prepared for this, and this kind of information is important to recognize prior to bringing the child home. I also enjoy working with prospective adoptive parents in preparing them well for their new family, when the agency they are working with is not already providing this service.