A Word from Our Executive Director
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Springtime at BPAR means new growth. We have expanded in the past seven years, and are continually trying to figure out ways to meet the demand for more client services, professional trainings and specialized resources. Our waiting lists are long and it is a challenge we welcome. This tells us we are doing our job well. Our team is small but mighty, and our passion for our work shines through even on the most challenging days. As you will read below in our newsletter, lots of exciting endeavors, positive changes and new developments reflect the creativity and commitment of the BPAR clinicians as we strive to increase our reach and impact.
We are gearing up for the end of our fiscal year with our
annual appeal
letter. As most of you know, our expenses to help support individuals and families are greater than what we take in from insurance or what out of pocket fees provide. At BPAR, we strive to never turn anyone away based on the ability to pay.
We help clients in other states or with multiple needs connect with outside resources.
This is a free service that BPAR does for all touched by foster care or adoption. We do this because it is the right thing to do. Not a day goes by when we don’t hear: “Thank you, I was at a loss. I never would have known where to find help if it weren’t for BPAR.”
We rely heavily on your donations to support all who are seeking help with foster care and post adoption challenges. Know that
your donations
go directly to providing services. Know that you are making a difference in the lives of so many who are motivated to achieve healthy and productive lives.
All the Best,
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We are thrilled that Maya Rogers-Bursen, LMHC, became a full-time BPAR clinician on April 1st! A specialist in art therapy, Maya trained in adoption competency as a BPAR intern in 2014-2015 and has continued part-time with BPAR until now. She has experience working with complex trauma and at-risk youth and their families, and she is our primary group leader.
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Farewell to Interns Erin Weaver and Michelle (Seungmi) Lee
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As a master's level clinical intern at BPAR and art therapist in training, Erin Weaver has developed adoption competency skills from her year under BPAR's supervision. Erin is graduating in May with a Masters in Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Art Therapy.
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As an important part of BPAR's commitment to educating professionals in adoption competency, we train and supervise promising master's level interns.
We have been training clinical interns in adoption proficiency since 2012.
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Michelle (Seungmi) Lee has graciously gifted BPAR with her time and talents as an applied psychology intern. We are grateful for her insightful research and wish her well when she begins a psychology Ph.D. program at Tufts.
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BPAR Outreach:
Supporting Adoption from Foster Care &
Training Professionals in Adoption Competency
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Educating Prospective Foster-to Adopt Parents
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Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (M.A.R.E.) invited BPAR clinician KC Craig, LICSW (far left) to speak to families in the foster-to-adopt process at their "Community Resources for Adoptive Families" panel in February. Panelists discussed mental health services, respite care, support groups, and more.
Other panelists pictured: Representatives from M.A.R.E., MSPCC (Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children), Adoption Journeys and Federation for Children with Special Needs
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Teaching Bay State Professionals About Adoption Themes
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The topic was
Adoption 101: Education and Resources for Mental Health Professionals,
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the providers who attended, in turn, shared what they learned with the rest of their team back at their offices, allowing BPAR's impact to spread even further.
Next October, Kelly, KC and Lisa Coppola, LMHC, will return to Bay State to provide more training on post adoption therapy to an even larger group of employees.
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Training Substance Abuse Counselors Who Help Adoptees in Recovery
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Clinician Lisa Coppola, LMHC, a specialist in adoptee support and addiction, has created a 1.5-hour training module to educate substance abuse clinicians and counselors who work with adoptees in early recovery.
Lisa says, "Adopted people and those who have spent time or were raised in the foster care system have a higher rate of addictive disorders than the
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general public. This training brings education and awareness around core experiences and obstacles adoptees encounter throughout their lives. Often, in recovery these experiences and obstacles start to emerge as they are released from the numbing of substance abuse."
The module focuses on specific interventions which counselors can use with these clients to help them cope in early recovery.
So far Lisa has trained staff at Right Turn in Watertown and Granada House in Allston, and she hopes to ultimately reach residential programs and outpatient recovery programs throughout Massachusetts.
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Therapy Groups for Teens and Their Parents
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As a way to serve more adoptees in their post adoption years, this year we added group therapy specifically for teen adoptees ages 12-14 one Wednesday evening per month.
And now KC Craig, LICSW, will run a concurrent group for their parents, offering therapy while the teens meet separately with Maya Rogers-Bursen, LMHC.
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Celebrating Our Book —
1,000+ Readers in Just 2 Years!
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Follow Us and Share Our Mission
If you are not following BPAR on social media,
now is the time to subscribe
. Click the links below to follow us during adoption month and throughout the year!
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As a 501 (c)(3), BPAR relies on donations to make our mission possible. Your generosity allows us to speak at conferences, create resources like our book and blog, and offer a free initial phone consultation to anyone who reaches out to us. Thank you!
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Boston Post Adoption Resources | 235 Cypress Street, Brookline, MA | 617-778-6213 |
bpar.org
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