Can counsellors offer counselling for adoption issues?

In most cases, you can walk into your first counselling appointment and discuss whatever is troubling you. However, there are a small number of areas where the law restricts whether a counsellor can offer you their services. One of these is adoption. So, can counsellors in England (where I am based) offer counselling for adoption issues? The answer is: sometimes. And to understand this, we will look below at the role of adoption support agencies.

But first, let us note the relevance of where in the United Kingdom you are living.

Who is this post for?

This post offers some thoughts for people in England who are seeking counselling for adoption issues as to where to look for a counsellor. However, this post does not address the issues facing counsellors. Counsellors in England who have similar questions, might start with Ofsted’s guidance, dated February 2019 at the time of writing.

If you are in the UK but not in England, please be aware of differences in regulations between countries. Some of the UK-wide charities listed at the end of this post below may be able to assist in this.

What are adoption support agencies?

Adoption support agencies provide assistance to adopted children and adults, such as counselling and finding out the details of their adoption. They can help those who want to know more about their birth relatives, or want to trace them.

If an organisation undertakes work with adopted children or adults, or children who are being ‘prepared for adoption’, it will usually need to register with Ofsted as an adoption support agency. (Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills in England). It must register if it undertakes one or more of the following activities:

support and help to adoptive parents to enable them to provide stable and permanent homes for children placed with them
assistance to an adoption agency in preparing and training adoptive parents
support to any child or adult who has been adopted, or their birth relatives
assisting people who have been adopted to trace or have contact with their relatives.

The organisation must also meet a range of legal requirements and take account of the national minimum standards that apply.

Moreover, the Ofsted guidance makes clear that a counsellor wanting to provide an adoption-related service to anyone needing counselling around adoption issues must register. This applies to both counselling in relation to the client’s own adoption and to the adoption of their child. However, there is still some ambiguity in my view.

Can I legally provide you with counselling for adoption issues?

According to Ofsted guidance, I cannot, as a counsellor in private practice, provide counselling on adoption matters without registering or being under contract with an approved service. Anything linked to the adoption process is strictly off-limits. However, it seems that being adopted yourself or having adopted a child does not, in itself, stop me from being your counsellor. It appears there is some leeway around emotional issues that arise. For example, we could work on processing your feelings about having been adopted yourself or how that affects your view of yourself. The same applies to your feelings about the adoption of a child where this has already taken place or your feelings about an adoption that you are not involved in.

Adoption issues identified in the first counselling session

If it becomes clear during the first counselling session that adoption-related issues are the main focus, I would:

let you know that you have the right to access adoption support services
consider whether I can legally work with you
discuss with you the possibility of referring you to a registered agency.

Adoption issues identified later in counselling

If an adoption related issue emerge only after our counselling relationship has begun, I would:

consider whether adoption was the primary concern or focus of counselling
discuss with you any requirement or possibility of referring you to a registered agency
ensure a smooth and safe transition from me to the agency (if we agreed on a move)
seek advice within the bounds of our confidentiality agreement, if appropriate.

Who should you contact first?

If you are seeking counselling about the adoption process, I would recommend that you contact a registered adoption agency first or a charity offering adopted-related. I cannot give formal recommendations but the section below offers a few suggestions for people in the UK. But, in other circumstances, please feel free to contact me. Where I may be able to help, I will usually offer a short consultation (no fee) to check whether it is appropriate to work together.