Adoption & Permanency Therapy in Ottawa and across Ontario
Specialized Adoption & Permanency Therapy for Children, Teens, Adults & Families
Adoption and permanency journeys are built on love, connection, and commitment but they can also bring questions about identity, belonging, attachment, grief, and relationships that deserve compassionate support.
At Connected Roots Therapy, we provide adoption therapy in Ottawa through in-person therapy, as well as virtual adoption therapy across Ontario. We support children, teens, adults, caregivers, and families navigating adoption, foster care, kinship care, customary care, guardianship, and other permanency journeys.
Whether you're preparing for adoption, adjusting after placement, supporting your child through big emotions, navigating birth family relationships, or you're an adult adoptee seeking therapy in Ontario, we're here to walk alongside you with compassion and understanding.
Our therapists provide adoption-informed, trauma- and attachment-informed therapy that honours every family's unique story while helping build connection, safety, and resilience.
At Connected Roots Therapy, we use the term permanency to include adoption, foster care, kinship care, customary care, guardianship, and other lifelong caregiving relationships.
Every permanency journey is different. Some families seek support before placement, while others reach out years later as developmental stages, life transitions, or new questions emerge. There is no "right" time to begin therapy.
Whether your family has been together for months or decades, therapy can provide a safe space to better understand one another, strengthen relationships, and navigate life's challenges together.
What Do We Mean by "Permanency"?
Adoption Is More Than One Story
No two adoption or permanency experiences are alike.
Children, teens, adults, and caregivers may experience different emotions and challenges throughout life, not because something is wrong, but because relationships, identity, and life experiences naturally evolve over time.
You or your family may be experiencing:
Questions about identity, belonging, and family
Challenges with trust, connection, or relationships
Anxiety or emotional regulation difficulties
Grief, loss, or ambiguous loss
Curiousity about birth family or life story
Behaviour that feels confusing or overwhelming
School challenges or school avoidance
Parenting stress, blocked care or blocked trust
Feelings that become stronger during adolescence, adulthood, or major life transitions
These experiences make sense in the context of a person's history, relationships, and lived experiences.
Our adoption-informed therapists help children, teens, adults, and families understand the "why" behind behaviours with empathy rather than judgement, creating opportunities for healing, connection, and growth.
Our team provides adoption therapy, permanency-informed therapy, and attachment therapy for adoptive families, including support for:
Adoptive families
Foster families
Kinship and customary care families
Children and youth in permanency placements
Parents and caregivers
Families preparing for adoption
Families navigating openness, reunion, or birth family relationships
Families experiencing placement transitions
Adult adoptees
Adults exploring identity, grief, reunion, belonging, or parenting after adoption
Whether you're looking for an adoption therapist in Ottawa or virtual adoption therapy anywhere in Ontario, we'll help match you with the therapist who best fits your family's unique needs.
Who We Support
Common Reasons Families Reach Out
Families seek adoption therapy in Ottawa and across Ontario for many reasons, including:
Attachment and relationship challenges
Developmental trauma and early adversity
Emotional regulation difficulties
Anxiety
Identity exploration
Grief and ambiguous loss
Parenting stress, blocked care or blocked trust
School challenges and school avoidance
Difficult conversations about adoption or life story
Birth family contact, reunion, or openness
Premature exits from care or placement disruptions
Unexpected online birth family connections
Major developmental transitions, particularly adolescence
Caregiver burnout and compassion fatigue
Therapy provides a safe, supportive space to better understand these experiences while strengthening relationships, emotional safety, and connection.
Our Approach to Adoption & Permanency Therapy
At Connected Roots Therapy, we believe healing happens in relationships.
Our attachment therapy for adoptive families is grounded in trauma- and attachment-informed care. Rather than asking, "What's wrong?" we ask:
"What has happened?"
"What does this child, teen, adult, or family need to feel safe, understood, and connected?"
Depending on your family's needs, therapy may include:
Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)
Somatic Experiencing® (SEP)
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)
Play Therapy
Sandtray Therapy
Art-Based Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Parent coaching and caregiver support
Family therapy
Every therapy plan is thoughtfully tailored because every adoption and permanency journey is unique.
Our Expertise in Adoption & Permanency
Adoption and permanency aren't simply populations we work with, they are one of Connected Roots Therapy's core areas of specialization.
Our team understands that adoption and permanency journeys are shaped by relationships, life experiences, identity, and the many transitions that occur throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. We recognize that every story is unique, and we approach each individual and family with curiosity, compassion, and respect.
Our therapists have specialized training in trauma- and attachment-informed care and draw from evidence-based approaches that support healing through relationships. As a team, we have advanced training in modalities including Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), Somatic Experiencing® (SEP), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) & sandtray therapy. allowing us to tailor therapy to each person's unique needs and developmental stage.
Beyond our clinical work, we are committed to ongoing learning, consultation, and collaboration with professionals in the adoption and permanency community. This helps ensure the care we provide remains informed, compassionate, evidence-based, and responsive to the evolving needs of the individuals and families we serve.
Above all, we believe healing happens through safe, trusting relationships. Our goal is to help children, teens, adults, and families feel understood, strengthen their connections with one another, and move forward with greater confidence and resilience.
Why Choose Connected Roots Therapy?
At Connected Roots Therapy, we understand that every adoption and permanency journey is unique. Whether you're seeking support for your child, your family, or yourself as an adult adoptee, you'll find a team that approaches your story with playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy.
Everything we do is guided by our values:
Compassion over judgement
Curiosity before assumptions
Connection before correction
Collaboration with caregivers
Inclusive, relationship-centered care
Honouring every family's unique story
We believe behaviours make sense in the context of relationships and lived experiences. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, we work alongside individuals and families to deepen understanding, strengthen connection, and build lasting resilience.
Frequently Asked Questions About Adoption and Permanency Support
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Yes. We provide therapy for adult adoptees in Ottawa and across Ontario. Many adult adoptees seek therapy to explore identity, belonging, grief, reunion, birth family relationships, parenting after adoption, or experiences that become more meaningful later in life. Therapy offers a supportive space to make sense of your story at your own pace.
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Possibly. Many families begin adoption-informed therapy years after placement. As children grow, they often begin asking new questions about identity, belonging, relationships, and their life story. Adolescence is an especially common time for families to seek support.
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Often. We believe caregivers are an essential part of the healing process. Depending on your goals and your child's age, therapy may include parent sessions, family sessions, parent-child therapy, or caregiver coaching alongside individual therapy.
Where do you offer adoption therapy?
We provide in-person adoption therapy in Ottawa and virtual therapy across Ontario.
If you live in Ottawa or the surrounding communities, including Kanata, Nepean, Barrhaven, Orléans, Stittsville, and Gloucester, you can choose either in-person or virtual sessions. Families living anywhere else in Ontario can access therapy virtually.
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We provide in-person adoption therapy in Ottawa and virtual therapy across Ontario.
If you live in Ottawa or the surrounding communities, including Kanata, Nepean, Barrhaven, Orléans, Stittsville, and Gloucester, you can choose either in-person or virtual sessions. Families living anywhere else in Ontario can access therapy virtually.
You Don’t have to Navigate This Alone
Whether you're parenting through big emotions & behaviour, supporting a child or teen as they make sense of their story, preparing for adoption, navigating foster or kinship care, reconnecting with birth family, or you're an adult adoptee looking for support, you don't have to do it alone.
At Connected Roots Therapy, we walk alongside children, teens, adults, and families with compassion and understanding. Together, we'll help build stronger relationships, greater understanding, and resilience for every stage of your permanency journey.
Connected Roots Therapy Blog
Ready to take the next step?
Book a free 15-minute consultation to connect with an adoption therapist in Ottawa or a virtual therapist anywhere in Ontario. We'll take the time to understand your family's unique story and match you with the therapist who best fits your needs.