FOR NORTHERN VIRGINIA FAMILIES: Middle School Teen Adoptee Identity Group

FOR NORTHERN VIRGINIA FAMILIES: Middle School Teen Adoptee Identity Group

Date Jan 28, 2025
Time 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Cost FREE

Calling all parents of teen adoptees – and adoptees themselves in the Northern region of Virginia*! Register Now for the FREE virtual 6-week Middle School Teen Adoptee Identity Support Group, led by C.A.S.E. Adoption Competent Therapists Barb Franck, LCSW-C, and Lala-Marie Perez, LMSW.

Register Free Today

Registration is limited and will close January 6, 2025, at 11:59 pm. High school students are encouraged to sign up for the high school teen adoptee support group, meeting at the same dates.

*The Virginia counties of Alexandria, Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, Fredericksburg, Greene, Harrisonburg/Rockingham, King George, Loudoun, Louisa, Madison, Manassas City/Park, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren, & Winchester.

Adolescence is a tumultuous time; being adopted adds another layer of complexity. The Northern Post-Adoption Consortium (NPAC) is pleased to offer a FREE 6-week group for middle-school-aged tween and teen adoptees in grades 6-8 who reside in the Northern region of Virginia* to focus on connecting with other adopted tweens and teens, promoting identification as an adoptee, providing a safe space to share feelings and thoughts about their adoption experience and supporting their exploration of identity.

The Middle School Tween and Teen Adoptee Identity Support Group will meet on Zoom on Tuesdays from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm starting January 28th and continuing on February4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, and March 4th. The group facilitators request that all youths enrolled commit to attending at least 5 of the 6 group meetings.

Meeting dates: 1/28/25, 2/4/25, 2/11/25, 2/18/25, 2/25/25, 3/4/25

Facilitators 

Barb Franck

Barb Franck, LCSW-C, serves clients through teletherapy throughout the states of Virginia and Maryland. She received her undergraduate degree in English and Art History from Florida State University. She earned her Master’s degree in American Studies from the University of Maryland, and her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Barb has over 20 years’ experience working with youth and families, both as an adoption-competent therapist and as the former Clinical Director of an agency providing wraparound services to families raising children with emotional and behavioral challenges. She has extensive experience in the field of adoption and specializes in issues of grief and loss, identity, diversity, and transracial adoption. Barb is an adoptive mother of two.

Lala-Marie PerezLala-Marie Perez, LMSW, received her Bachelors degree in Sociology from Hunter College and her Masters of Social Work from Fordham University in NYC. She then moved to Northern Virginia where she received her general license (LMSW) and began practicing. Her clinical experience is at Residential (RTC), Partial Hospitalization (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP). At these higher level of cares, she has treated adolescents with severe anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, eating disorders and other co-occurring disorders. She uses a strength based, person centered approach while providing a non-judgmental safe space for youth. Lala-Marie’s area of expertise include individual and group therapy, family stabilization, and crisis intervention while using techniques such as DBT, Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Therapies and Mindfulness. Lala-Marie’s personal connection with adoption drives her passion to work with youth impacted by several mental health challenges within the adoption, foster care, and kinship community.