A 7-Week ONLINE Therapeutic Group for Adult Adoptees

Adoption does not end in childhood. It continues across the lifespan — shaping identity, relationships, self-worth, and the quiet questions that surface in adulthood:

Why does belonging feel complicated?
Why does rejection cut so deeply?
Why do I struggle with trust, intimacy, or control?
What have I lost — and how do I grieve something I can’t fully name?

If you have ever carried these questions, you are not alone.

The Seven Core Issues of Adoption offer a compassionate framework for understanding how adoption experiences can influence adult life — often in ways that are subtle, complex, and deeply personal.

Loss.
Rejection.
Shame and guilt.
Grief.
Identity.
Intimacy.
Mastery and control.

These themes are adaptive responses to early experiences. This is about understanding your story— and yourself — with greater clarity and compassion.

Journey of Discovery is designed to gently explore these core issues from an adult adoptee perspective —with the gentle facilitation of a psychologist who is also an adoptee.

What You’ll Experience

Over seven weeks, we will:

• Explore one core issue each session
• Reflect on how adoption has shaped your adult relationships and self-concept
• Share stories in a supportive, confidential group setting
• Develop insight, language, and self-compassion
• Build connection with others who truly understand

There is something powerful about being in a space where you don’t have to explain the unexplainable — where others simply get it.

Group size is intentionally limited to ensure that the group experience offers depth, safety, and meaningful connection.

Meet the Facilitator, Joanne Crandall, Ph.D.

Dr Crandall is a Registered Psychologist, with a Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology. Joanne has extensive experience as a Trauma therapist and an Early Childhood MentalHealth Psychologist. She specializes in the impact of trauma, loss and attachment across the lifespan. She supports adoptees of all ages from early childhood through to later adulthood. Joanne is also an adoptee herself, so she continues to reflect on her own lived experience as an adoptee, and she brings that very valuable personal perspective to her work with adults and families.

Joanne is also a workshop facilitator and teacher who has spoken about the impact of trauma and neglect provincially, nationally, and internationally. Joanne has presented her work at both Zero to Three conferences and at the World Association of Infant Mental Health.

Program Details

Dates: Tuesday evenings 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm from April 7 to May 19

Format: 7 live Zoom sessions (90 minutes each)

You can join from wherever you are — home, office, or while traveling — and remain connectedthroughout the journey.

Weekly Themes

April 7 — Loss
Exploring identity loss and what adoption may have interrupted.

April 14 — Rejection
Understanding the imprint of feeling unwanted or not fully belonging.

April 21 — Shame & Guilt
Unpacking relational trauma and its impact on self-worth.

April 28 — Grief
Giving space to ambiguous and often unrecognized grief.

May 5 — Identity
Reclaiming and redefining who you are as an adult adoptee.

May 12 — Intimacy
Navigating connection, vulnerability, and adult relationships.

May 19 — Mastery & Control
Cultivating resilience, agency, and self-compassion.

This Group May Be Right for You If:

• You are an adult adoptee seeking deeper self-understanding
• You feel adoption still impacts your relationships or identity
• You want a therapeutic space with others who share lived experience
• You are ready to approach your story with curiosity and compassion

➜ Registration is now open. Cost is $485 inclusive
Spaces are limited to maintain an intimate group setting.

Reserve your spot today and begin your Journey of Discovery