Adoption is a life-long process and each adoption is unique and special. Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley offers expertise in adoption services including general adoption information, post-legal services, and birth options counseling. We also support adoptive families through the SAFE Counseling program, educational programming, and support for adoptees.
Whether you’re pregnant and considering making an adoption plan, you’re an adoptee looking for information on your birth family, you’re looking for information about how to adopt a child, or your family includes an adopted child, we have expertise to assist you. The CSSMV counseling program is always available to adult and child adoptees and their families.
From the moment of birth, when a baby struggles to find the first breaths of life, the people and the environment surrounding the child are important to his or her survival. When a child’s birth or early developmental experiences are filled with problems, behavioral issues can arise and begin to magnify as the child grows. A child who has endured trauma may develop an attachment disorder. Children who have been abused or neglected and/or had multiple foster care placements prior to adoption are particularly “at risk” of developing attachment and bonding difficulties.
Conventional parenting, standard school discipline or traditional outpatient therapy are often less than effective for “hard-to-reach” children with an attachment disorder. These children and their families need help, and it is available through Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley’s SAFE Counseling program.
SAFE Counseling is designed to treat children and to educate parents of children who exhibit signs of an attachment disorder. SAFE Counseling offers help to parents of children who have serious issues that seem unsolvable.
Attachment therapy is an integrated treatment approach that uses elements of cognitive-behavioral, object relations, family and psychodynamic therapies to facilitate child-parent bonding and to measure feedback. In conjunction with these therapies, holding therapy is used to establish a safe place with safe people in which the child can safely talk about and experience the painful issues of the past.
The program seeks to jump start the attachment cycle aborted as the result of the child’s earlier trauma. SAFE believes it is essential to break through barriers of trauma before a child can develop healthy interpersonal relations built on trust. SAFE counseling aims to begin the attachment and healing process for the child and the adoptive or current family.
Birth options counseling is for any pregnant woman at any stage of her pregnancy who is trying to decide whether she is ready to become a parent, or if making an adoption plan would be the best choice. This service is also available to birth fathers and other family members seeking to help. A counselor can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In this process, a CSSMV counselor will help you carefully weigh your options. The core of the process includes an exploration of facts and feelings. Other options beyond parenting and traditional adoption may include placing your baby with a relative or a family you already know.
If you decide to make an adoption plan for your child, we can help you. Our state-certified adoption counselor can give you information about open, confidential, and identified adoption options, as well as explaining what to expect from both emotional and logistical/legal perspectives. We work with Adoption Circle — a private, non-profit, Ohio-licensed adoption agency — to assist you with adoption placement. We are here to support the birth mother and her family as well as the birth father. Our caring counselors are here to offer ongoing support before, during, and after whatever decision you make.
If you decide to parent your child, we can help. CSSMV offers pregnancy and parenting supports. We can give you information and link you to resources for prenatal care, housing, financial assistance, home visiting services, parenting classes, support groups, childcare, and other services available in your community that will help you and your baby.
Dayton Counseling Center
Years in Practice: 20 years
Population: Adult, Children, Families, and Groups
Specialties: Anxiety, Depression, PTSD, Complex Trauma, Adoption related issues, Reactive Attachment Disorder
Therapeutic Approach: Psychodynamic, Mindfulness, Trauma informed, Attachment therapies, Cognitive approaches
Degree: MSW from University of Michigan
Licensing: Licensed Independent Social Work, with supervisory credentials (LISW-S) Certified in EEG-Neurofeedback (BCN)
Licensed by: Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board
Sidney Counseling Center
Years in Practice: 20 years practice working with children, couples, families, individuals, and developmentally disabled population
Specialties: Treatment of emotional and social issues, depression, anxiety, trauma, and adjustment issues; focus on mental and developmentally disabled individuals, marriage and couples issues, spirituality, early childhood intervention, and parenting skills
Degrees: AA in Communication from Sinclair College, BA in Psychology from University of Dayton, MSEd in Social Agency Counseling from University of Dayton, and Post Graduate in Clinical Counseling from University of Dayton
Licensing: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, with supervisory credentials (LPCC-S)
Licensed by: Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board
Dayton Counseling Center
Years of Practice: 4 years
Population: Children, Adults, Families, Groups
Specialties: Pregnancy Counseling and Decision Making, Post-Legal Adoption, Individual, Family, and Group therapy, Autism
Therapy Approach: Client centered approach with a focus on client self-determination and person-in-environment perspective
Degree: Bachelor’s in Social Work and Master’s in Science in Social Work from University of Louisville
Certification: Tier I Adoption Accessor in State of Ohio
Licensing: Licensed Social Worker
Licensed by: Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board
Sidney Counseling Center
Years in Practice: 1 year practice working with children, adolescents, and adults
Specialties: children and adolescents, especially those with criminal records; disabled population
Degrees: BS in Psychology from Morehead University; MS in Criminal Justice from Tiffin University; MS in Mental Health Counseling from Wright State University
Licensing: Licensed Professional Counselor
Licensed by: Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board
Dayton Counseling Center
Years of Practice: 10 years
Population: Adults, Couples, Adolescents 16 yrs. and above
Specialties: Community medical and behavioral health integration, victims of domestic violence, planning and linking to community resources, depression, anxiety
Therapy Approach: Client Centered, Solution Focused, Cognitive-Behavioral, Psycho-Educational
Licensing: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Licensed Social Worker
Licensed by: Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board
Dayton Counseling Center
Years in Practice: 14 years
Population: Senior Adults, Adults, Adolescents
Specialties: Individuals, Couples, PTSD, Depression, Anxiety
Therapy Approach: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Certified Art Therapist
Degree: Postgraduate Clinical Counselor Education, Master of Science in Social Agency Counseling, Master in Art Therapy
Licensing: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Licensed Social Worker
Licensed by: Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board
Dayton Counseling Center
Shelia has been with the Dayton Counseling Center for an incredible 38 years. When you visit or call the Dayton location, Shelia is the friendly face (or voice) who will greet you, help answer your questions about our services, and set you up with an appointment with a counselor who best meets your needs.
