Adoption Issues in Troubled Teens from Florida | C.A.R.E.

By Curtis Reed

C.A.R.E. is a unit of licensed residential treatment centers with programs for troubled teens living in Florida who struggle with adoption related issues. Our programs combine the key elements essential in effectively treating troubled girls and boys with adoption issues and other mental health disorders. Adolescent treatment needs can be challenging and often involves a comprehensive approach. We deliver a highly individualized plan to treatment where psychological, spiritual, social and educational needs are continually assessed and revised throughout the treatment process. 

The worst thing that a teenager can experience is feeling different from their peers. At no other time in life do people want to fit in, be part of a group as they do in the teenage years. Being adopted creates many feelings of being different. Often an adopted child may look differently than their adopted parents because they may be a different race or culture. The feelings that arise around these differences need to be addressed. If this issue is not addressed properly it can negatively affect a child's sense of self worth and security within the adoptive family.

Adopted Teens experience the same problems that other Teens do

Another confusing factor is that adoption may be a major issue troubled teens feel powerless about. They get angry and they do things to gain control. Boys and girls who have been adopted experience the same problems that other teens do, like: have fear of abandonment issues, have trust issues, have increased fear of rejection, have profound feelings of loss, develop strategies to push people away, act out problems, they can be aggressive, they can be antisocial and have a tendency to be provocative. They can also have issues with aggression.

It is very important for adopted children to be able to grieve their losses so that they can learn to receive and give love to others which often begins with their adopted parents. This grief would include, feelings of sorrow, ache, sadness, anguish and despair. But, the only way to healing is through the pain of grief. Once the child has gone through this they can learn to look at the adoption differently and to see that through it all he or she learned love, appreciation and acceptance.

Boarding schools for troubled teens, such as residential treatment centers, take a diverse approach to educating students. They incorporate superior educational resources with therapeutic programs. This helps students develop better academic skills, as well as behavioral choices so they can achieve future success as adults and learn to love, accept and appreciate their adoptive parents and themselves.

At C.A.R.E., we help parents realize that no amount of nurturing might have prevented the issues that their adopted children face. We can help troubled teens work through the difficulties of adoption.