Adoption inherently involves loss — of biological connection, cultural continuity, and often, early secure attachment. These disruptions shape memory networks in ways that standard EMDR protocols may not fully address.
Live training · 90-day replay access · Secure checkout · Instant confirmation · Zoom link in your account · CE Certificate issued upon attendance verification
Presented by
Linda Russell,
LPC, EdD
EMDRIA-Approved EMDR Trainer · Licensed Professional Counselor · Adoption & Attachment Specialist
Anxiety, relational difficulty, identity confusion, affect dysregulation — the surface presentation can obscure what's actually driving it. Early separation, ambiguous loss, disorganized attachment, and identity rupture create memory networks that standard trauma-processing approaches may not fully reach.
LPCs, LMHCs, and licensed counselors working in trauma-focused or adoption-adjacent practice settings.
LISWs, LMSWs, and psychologists working with adopted children, adolescents, or adults.
LMFTs and clinicians encountering attachment disruption, identity fragmentation, or ambiguous loss across the lifespan.
Adoption involves loss that often precedes explicit memory: loss of biological connection, early attachment relationships, cultural continuity, and identity coherence. These losses resurface across the lifespan and underlie presenting concerns that never get named as adoption-related.
This training uses the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model as the clinical framework — integrating adoption-informed principles into EMDR case conceptualization, assessment, preparation, and reprocessing across all eight phases.
The training combines lecture, clinical case examples, experiential exercises, and guided discussion to move from conceptual understanding to applied clinical strategy.
Applied frameworks for recognizing and addressing attachment disruption, developmental loss, and identity fragmentation within the AIP model.
01
Recognize the unique manifestations of trauma, loss, and complicated grief in adoption, including psychological and developmental consequences for adoptees.
02
Identify clinical implications for using EMDR therapy to treat adoption-related trauma, including dissociation, identity disturbance, and affect intolerance.
03
Apply EMDR therapy techniques adapted for adoption trauma across different developmental stages and relational contexts.
04
Explain the relationship between infant/early attachment and the AIP model in the context of adoption, including implications for memory processing and case formulation.
05
Describe clinical considerations for each phase of EMDR therapy (Phases 1–8) when working with clients with disrupted attachment histories.
06
Recognize how Erikson's psychosocial stages of development are disrupted by adoption-related trauma and how this impacts treatment.
When adoption-related trauma is accurately recognized and addressed, clinicians can move beyond surface-level symptom treatment and work with the deeper developmental roots of distress.
Rather than interpreting attachment disruption, identity confusion, or chronic grief through a general trauma lens, clinicians gain a framework for understanding how the adoption experience itself shapes memory networks, relational patterns, and the therapeutic process — and how to respond with informed, phase-specific EMDR interventions. This is not an add-on technique. It is a structured way of understanding how adoption-related developmental trauma continues shaping the present.
Live training · 90-day replay access · Secure checkout · Instant confirmation
Registration
$249.99
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A balance of lecture, clinical case discussion, and guided practice. All times Central.
EMDRIA-Approved EMDR Trainer · Licensed Professional Counselor · Adoption & Attachment Specialist
Linda Russell is a Licensed Professional Counselor and EMDRIA-Approved EMDR Trainer with over 28 years of experience specializing in adoption, trauma, and attachment. As CEO of Breakthrough Counseling and Family Preservation Outreach, she combines clinical expertise with a focused commitment to strengthening family systems and understanding the developmental impact of early separation and relational disruption.
Linda Russell's work spans private practice, education, and nonprofit leadership, and she serves as an expert witness in attachment-related cases. Her training draws on contemporary adoption research, attachment science, and the AIP model to help clinicians recognize and address the layered trauma embedded in the adoption experience.
Read Linda's Full Bio →6 EMDRIA-Approved Credits
EMDR & Beyond is an EMDRIA-approved EC Provider (#15007). This program (#15007-94) is approved for 6 EMDRIA Credits. Eligibility for EMDRIA credits is limited to participants who have completed an EMDRIA-approved Basic EMDR Training.
6 APA-Approved CE Credits
EMDR & Beyond is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. EMDR & Beyond remains fully responsible for the program and its content.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
Certificates are issued electronically after attendance verification and completion requirements are met.
To receive CE or EMDRIA credits for live virtual attendance, participants must attend the entire program in real time. Partial credit is not available, and viewing a recording does not qualify for live credit.
Licensed professionals are responsible for contacting their regulatory board to determine individual course approval.
Refunds are available within three (3) days of course purchase, less a $50 processing fee. Purchases made after this period are non-refundable.
Written grievances should be submitted to Kenya Rocha at [email protected]. Grievances will be reviewed and, when appropriate, corrective action will be taken.
This course complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). There is no known commercial interest or conflict of interest related to this workshop. Accommodation requests: contact Kenya Rocha.
Registration closes May 14, 2026.
Secure checkout · Instant confirmation · Zoom link in your account · CE Certificate issued upon attendance verification
