This course will help you:

Create conscious intention around your desire for contact.

Create and manage expectations of the potential relationship.

Decide on a method of communication.

Negotiate appropriate boundaries between families.

Understand realities of managing multiple family memberships for your child.

Create new extended family member scripts.

Examine genetic differences.

Prepare for genetic surprises.

Understand common emotional reactions and how to manage them.

Be aware of common pitfalls so you can try to avoid them.

I met my biological father and half siblings for the first time in my twenties and my biological mother and more half-siblings in my thirties and forties. Looking back, I can see how my age and life stage at the time influenced these encounters.

Jana Rupnow is a licensed professional counselor and adoptee, specializing in non-genetic family life, especially after infertility.