Module 1: Friday 8th May – Sunday 10th May 2026
Module 2: Friday 3rd July – Sunday 5th July 2026
Comprehensive post-adoption training, delivered live on-line, supporting qualified practitioners to work safely and effectively with adopted children or young people.
Children and young people who have been adopted are often vulnerable due to their past experiences prior to their adoption which impacts on the here and now. Qualified therapists working with this special population require specialist skills, application of solid theoretical knowledge with the ability to hold and support family members in a manner unique to post adoption therapy.
Accredited with CPDUK and PTUK, PIP Solutions has designed this live online ‘Certificate in Post-Adoption Therapy for Children and Young People’ for qualified child therapists and play therapists wishing to work within this specialist area. This comprehensive and rigorous training course will equip qualified therapists with key knowledge and skills to understand the adoption process and its effects on all parties.
During this training you will hear from adoptees, adopters and first parents who will share their different perspectives on the complexities and outcomes resulting from adoption. It will provide information on topics including attachment, neurobiology, developmental trauma, loss and about the protective adaptations that adopted children make in service of survival.
The accredited experiential ‘Certificate in Post-Adoption Training for Children and Young People’ is for qualified therapists working with children and young people. Delivered by PIP Solutions Training, this course has two modules totalling 39 hours teaching. Each module is 3 days: 9.00 am-5.00 pm and delivered online.
This module provides an overview of the key concepts, historical context, and processes of adoption. Participants will examine adoption from multiple perspectives, including those of the birth parent, adoptive parent, and child, to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities involved.
What is Adoption: An overview of adoption, its purpose and its significance in shaping lives.
Adoption Models: Exploring various types of adoption, including domestic, international and Special Guardianship Orders (SGOs).
Evolution of Adoption: A historical perspective on how adoption practices have developed over time.
The Adoption Pyramid: A framework developed by PIP Solutions Training and Consultancy that centres the child while acknowledging the wide network and systems affected by adoption, including birth parents, foster parents, adoptive parents, extended family, professionals, policymakers, and society.
Understanding the Birth Parent’s Perspective: Exploring the experiences, emotions, and challenges faced by birth parents in the adoption process.
The Adoptive Parent’s Journey: Gaining insight into the motivations, responsibilities, and challenges adoptive parents navigate throughout their journey.
The Child’s Perspective: Exploring how adoption influences a child’s identity, development, and sense of belonging.
Navigating the Adoption Journey: A step-by-step look at both the legal and emotional aspects of the adoption process.
Legal Framework of Adoption: An overview of the legal requirements, rights, and responsibilities, including consent, finalization, and court proceedings.
Funding: Understanding the financial aspects of adoption, including grants and support programs for adoptive families.
This module explores the psychological and developmental effects of adoption, with a focus on trauma, attachment, and therapeutic approaches.
Modern Attachment Theory in Adoption: Exploring how contemporary attachment theories relate to adopted children.
Attachment Development in Adopted Children: Understanding how adoption shapes attachment styles and relationships.
Neural Development & Adoption: Examining the impact of early experiences on brain development.
Trauma & the Adopted Child: Understanding how early adversity influences emotional and psychological well-being.
The Impact of Early Disruption: How disruptions in caregiving affect child development.
FASD & NAS: Understanding Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS).
Sensory Underdevelopment: How adoption-related trauma can affect sensory processing.
Loss & Grief: Addressing the grief and identity struggles of adopted children.
Introduction to The Needs Paradox®: A new concept developed by PIP Solutions Training and Consultancy to understand and meet the unique needs of adopted children.
Key Principles for Therapeutic Work: Core guidelines for supporting adopted children and their families in therapy.
The Intake Process: Establishing a safe, structured foundation for therapeutic work.
Habituation & Titration: Managing emotional regulation and healing through gradual exposure in therapeutic work.
Therapeutic Dynamics: Recognizing and managing transference and countertransference in adoption-related therapy.
Supporting Healthy Endings: Supporting closure in therapeutic work with adopted children.
Each participant will be allocated a Consultant Practitioner who will lead them through four individual reflective sessions to consolidate their skills and understanding, this will include written and verbal discussion. The four Individual Reflective Sessions will take place following Module One and will be completed no later than one month after Module Two. Dates and timings of these sessions will be scheduled and agreed with the individual Consultant Practitioner.
Shirley is a qualified Creative Arts and Play therapist, Clinical and Professional supervisor and Filial play coach. She has a busy private practise in Kent working with children, young people and adults, along with parent and child together sessions, focussing on attachment, play and relationship. Shirley is a licensed PCAP (Parent and Child Attachment Play) practitioner.
While living in London she worked in Family Placements supporting Foster Carers and their Looked after children, assessing Adopters and working in a therapeutic team to assist moving children on to adoption. She also managed a children’s centre in a deprived area of South London.
She has worked for Education, Social Care, NHS, the Voluntary sector and charity organisations including Managing a Mental Health Team in the NHS and working as a Lay Therapist as part of the therapy team in a residential unit in Kent.
She has qualifications in working with loss and bereavement specialising in Pet bereavement and is also an EFT (Emotional Freedom techniques) Master Practitioner and a Laughter Therapy coach.
Becky Lives in Nottingham, England. She runs a private practice where she offers a range of therapeutic interventions to support the needs of children, adults and families. She also offers consultations to parents, professionals and clinical supervision.
Becky has over 20 years of experience working therapeutically with a diverse range of children, young people and adults, and has worked within and alongside multi-disciplinary teams in the voluntary, public and private sector. Her career history is rooted within the field of Social care, Looked After Children and Safeguarding. It is here is that she developed her skills and knowledge in attachment theory and developmental trauma and inspired her to train to become a Play and Creative Arts therapist and an Integrative Psychotherapist.
Integral to her clinical practice is her work with local authorities, adoption, fostering and residential agencies. She is commissioned to provide psychotherapeutic support that integrates play and creative methods underpinned by attachment theory. Becky is interested in the relational space between parents, carers and children and is passionate about supporting individuals to thrive.
Kay is an Accredited Play Therapist, Senior Clinical Supervisor, Trainer and Adoptive mum.
Kay has worked as a play therapist for a community CAMHS organisation and in primary schools. She practices mindfulness and set up a very successful whole school mindful based emotional well-being service in a two-form entry primary school. She now delivers this model “The BeMe Approach” as a workshop for school staff and therapists. As a supervisor Kay provides creative supervision for trainee and qualified therapists internationally, she supervises therapists who practice in a range of settings including children’s homes, Pupil Referral Units, Virtual Schools, hospices, primary and secondary schools and private practice.
Kay has many years of experience working with adoptive children and their families as a therapist and also indirectly as a supervisor, she also offers consultation and support for adoptive parents. Kay’s own adoption journey began in 1995 and was integral in her decision to pursue a career as a play therapist. Kay is passionate about therapy, mindfulness and the complex and diverse area of adoption and how we in the helping professions can more adequately support this special population.
Module 1: Friday 8th May – Sunday 10th May 2026
Module 2: Friday 3rd July – Sunday 5th July 2026
Registration Closes: 20th April 2026
Participants are required to take part in a final online assessment following completion of the live online training and their Individual Reflective Sessions.
39 CPD Points awarded to participants who complete the full Certificate in Post-Adoption Training for Children and Young People
If the child or young person needs to access therapy about adoption issues, participants take full responsibility for registering or being an individual contractor for a registered adoption or adoption support agency, or for a local authority adoption agency.
Total Fee: £1280.00 (Group Discount available). Please email enquiries@pipsolutions.co.uk for more information)
The course fee includes 39 hours teaching; 4 x Individual Reflective Sessions; 4 x Written Reflections; and Online Assessments
Please click here to pay in up to four instalments via PayItMonthly.
Please ensure you read and understand our booking policy before making a booking or setting up an instalment plan, as it is your responsibility to be aware of the terms and conditions.
