Pre-Adoption Evaluation
Welcome! If you are reading this, you are likely in the midst of the one of the more stressful processes of the pre-adoption process. As you tick off each of the numerous tasks you need to complete prior to adoption, I want you to know that this step: the Pre-Adoption Evaluation, is not about being the perfect parent-to-be or the perfect couple with nothing but positive experiences and attitudes. Adoption is stressful! Welcoming a child into your home, whether by giving birth to them, fostering, or adopting them, always is; it can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life, but that doesn’t mean it’s stress free.
Dr. Shannon Thomas, Psy.D.
What if you find out I’m not perfect?
What parent is? Negative feelings like anxiety and disappointment (if you’ve been hoping to conceive or adopt for some time now and have not been matched with a child yet) are expected. They don’t disqualify you, neither does arguing with your spouse or feeling afraid about the responsibility that comes with a child. Those are all normal and expected, very human feelings. All I evaluate is your fitness and readiness to be parents by ensuring you’ll provide a safe home for a child – not a perfect home where they’ll never experience a negative emotion. A safe, loving home.
What can I expect during my Pre-Adoption Evaluation?
- We’ll start with a clinical interview to evaluate mental health and parental readiness. This entails a one-hour interview per parent and then, if you are adopting with a partner, a 30-60 minute joint interview. During this clinical interview, I’ll gather information about your biopsychosocial experience, meaning your childhood, medical history, relationship, work, and social life. We’ll cover your attitudes towards parenting, your family structure, living arrangements, and psychological history and well-being. If this sounds thorough, you’re right! My pre-adoption evaluations are so thorough that I have never been asked by an adoption agency to re-interview patients to gather additional information. This thoroughness is key, because missing components lead to unexpected delays and I appreciate how lengthy the adoption process is already.
- Next, I’ll conduct psychological assessments to help determine mental health concerns, including the use of the highly validated and reliable MMPI-3. On these measures, I’m looking for the “big ticket items” that would prevent you from providing a safe home for your child. Plenty of wonderful parents have anxiety, ADHD, and/or are abuse survivors. Revealing or discovering a mental health diagnosis does not discount you from adoption. Additionally, there is no grade on these assessments, so this is not a case of “if you score below a certain percentage, then you’ve failed.”
- The goal of your Pre-Adoption Evaluation is to assess your personality, cognitive functioning, and behavioral traits to ensure that they are conducive to providing a safe, loving home in which to raise a child.
Pre-adoption Evaluation
Schedule a Free Consultation
I’m so glad you’re here. Let’s talk!
Call me to schedule a free 15 minute first session to learn how I work and ask any questions you may have about the process. If I’m with another patient when you call, please leave a voicemail with your availabilities so I can call you back when you are free to talk. I look forward to connecting with you.
Phone Number
(626) 784-7115
Good Faith Estimate
If you are not using insurance to pay for therapy, then you have the right to request a “Good Faith Estimate:” an approximation of how much, based on the symptoms and treatment goals you identify during our consultation, you can expect your non-emergency mental health services to cost. If your symptoms and treatment goals do not increase from what is described in this Good Faith Estimate, you attend therapy as initially agreed upon (e.g.: one weekly 60 minute therapy session), and you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, then you are permitted to dispute the bill. For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.