Adoption Stabilisation

The Lasting Impact of Early Childhood Experiences and Developmental Trauma

Early childhood is a critical window for neurological, emotional, and relational development. From the earliest stages in utero through infancy, a baby’s brain is shaped by the quality of connection, safety, and attunement they experience. When these foundational needs are disrupted through neglect, inconsistent caregiving, exposure to violence, or separation from primary caregivers the effects can be profound and enduring.

Before and After Birth: The Roots of Dysregulation

Developmental trauma often begins before birth, especially when the mother experiences high levels of stress, substance misuse, or lacks access to safe and nurturing environments. These stressors can alter the baby’s stress response systems, priming them for hypervigilance or emotional shutdown even before they take their first breath. After birth, if the child continues to experience relational ruptures, unpredictable care, or institutionalisation, their ability to form secure attachments may be compromised. This can manifest in difficulties with emotional regulation, sensory integration, and behavioural control challenges that often persist even after the child is placed in a loving adoptive home.

Post-Adoption: The Complexity of Healing

Adoption can offer safety, stability, and the promise of healing. However, the legacy of early trauma doesn’t simply dissolve with new surroundings. Many adopted children and young people struggle to make sense of their past, especially when their early experiences were fragmented, frightening, or unspoken. This can lead to behaviours that seem oppositional, withdrawn, or volatile often misinterpreted as defiance rather than distress. For adoptive parents, this can be deeply challenging. The child’s reactions may feel disproportionate, confusing, or relentless. Traditional parenting strategies may fall short, and even well-meaning therapeutic interventions might not reach the root of the child’s dysregulation.

Stabilisation Work: A Pathway to Understanding and Coping

Stabilisation work offers a trauma-informed approach that prioritises safety, predictability, and emotional literacy. It helps children and young people begin to understand their internal experiences naming sensations, emotions, and triggers and gradually build a toolkit of coping strategies. Unlike some forms of support that focus solely on behaviour management or cognitive reframing, stabilisation work meets the child where they are developmentally and emotionally. This approach can be transformative. It validates the child’s story without demanding disclosure, fosters trust through consistency, and empowers them to navigate overwhelming feelings with increasing confidence. For many, it’s the first time their distress is truly understood not pathologised or punished.

Why this is different to therapy

Lots of children are given therapeutic support in the form of play therapy, art therapy and for some this is able to unlock and process the feelings that come from being taken into care and then adopted. For others a different form of support is needed to manage day-to-day and understand what their body is telling them and how to cope with the fluctuating emotions.

The program looks at understanding big feelings, where feelings live, what sets the body off into fight, flight or freeze, finding calm, self-care, and understanding that you are am more than your past.

Cost: £50 per online session - £400 for the 8 session program