Training & Consultation

Dianne Mathes has provided consultation to many other counsellors and therapists who are working with clients who have trauma, loss and/or adoption as part of their life experience.

The experience of loss and change, when it occurs during infancy or as a young child, has different effects and impacts and can in some instances form an identity and sense of self that is centred in loss and grief. While these concepts are far from unique, the subtle and intricate ways that they play in the lives of individuals within adoption often needs specific approaches.

Similarly, when trauma occurs in addition to early experiences of loss and change, the therapy work has different focuses and approaches.

Dianne has provided this type of consultation to public and private therapists and agencies across North America, including Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario and Newfoundland, Family Service Agencies in Ontario and BC. She has presented workshops at seminars in Vancouver, Seattle, New York and San Francisco.

Dianne’s workshops are designed for the specific area of focus and skill development that each group or agency requests.

Some of her workshops include:

1. Understanding the Experience of Loss & Grief for Adopted Adults, Birth/Original Parents & Adoptive Parents and Families
   
   Loss is simply a different experience when it occurs for an infant or involves giving up a child … and the experience and cycle of grief can also be very different, it is important to know how to honour and work with the experience and cycles that loss and grief follow in adoption.
   
2. The Development of Healthy Identity & Strong Self-Esteem in Adoption
   
   Learning who “I am” can be a challenge when one’s genetic and kinship history is in one family and one’s development and life is in another …. Finding a whole and strong sense of one’s self requires patience, compassion, information and approaches that are sometimes a bit different.
   
3. Attachment: The Gifts of Attunement for Adoptive Families
   
   Attachment within adoptive families has its own set of joys and challenges. Adoptive parents need different kinds of information; skills and tools to reach out to child with they are not biologically connected and yet want to form heart connections with.