Alexis
Adoptee therapy

What to expect with adoptee-centered support

With adoptee-centered support you can expect to feel seen, heard, and validated in your experience as a transracial adoptee.

Many of us learned to people please, which is really self abandoning. You may be highly functional by every outside measure, the one who excels at work, the “super supportive” friend, the overachiever, while quietly putting your own needs last.

When something good happens there can be a barrier, a guilt you have never been able to name. You have been told your whole life that you have it all, and you still feel a void you cannot reach or articulate.

In your relationships you may lean anxious, avoidant, or both, feeling stuck and looking for a way through to something more secure.

Together we build what we were never taught. How to self advocate. How to set a boundary and hold it. Self worth that isn’t contingent on performing. You’ll process your adoption in an affirming space and build the foundation you always needed, in a way that centers you.

Alexis Kimball smiling, wearing a grey blazer, hand resting under her chin, against a soft muted backdrop.
01 Grief and loss

Every adoption begins with grief and loss.

Acknowledging adoption as grief and loss is where the healing begins. Recognizing that adoption is not a singular moment in time that started and ended the moment you were adopted, but instead something that leaves a lasting imprint on your central nervous system is essential to acknowledge.

02 Attachment focused

Maternal separation lays the blueprint for our attachment programming.

This initial attachment rupture sets the foundation for how we engage in relationships with others and with ourselves. This shows up in all of our personal, professional, familial and romantic relationships in ways we’re often unaware of until we finally have support that can recognize our unconscious pull toward what is familiar, not necessarily what’s best for us, and the difficulty within relationships that can follow it.

03 Trauma informed

Adoption is trauma, despite what society has led us to believe.

The experience of early maternal separation combined with the trauma that can come from being raised in racial isolation is something many adoptees and adoptive families are unaware of. This can be compounded with complicated family dynamics that can lead to layers of complex trauma adoptees have to sort through. Part of this process is acknowledging this reality so that we can learn to support, validate and heal those wounds without judgment, questioning, or criticism, and instead with lots of love and compassion.

04 Identity

How we see ourselves, and how others see us.

Identity is complex and multifaceted for us, particularly as adoptees of the global majority. Learning and reclaiming our racial identity, and the significance of preserving our heritage and our culture, is an integral part of the transracial adoptee existence. As we unearth these parts of ourselves, we solidify our identities through our own autonomous lens.

Who I work with

You might see parts of your story reflected in mine

Whether you’re a transracial adoptee, a same-race adoptee, someone who identifies as a Black or brown person of the global majority, or you’re adopted and raised in predominantly White spaces, I’m here to support you.

You may be feeling the symptoms of ‘coming out of the fog’, as they say, and are unsure how to balance such duality surrounding your feelings related to your adoption story. Maybe you grew up with more privilege than you were told your biological family had, and you were always told “you’re so lucky to be adopted!” You might be navigating familial estrangement to varying degrees and you’re seeking support from someone who understands.

If any of this resonates with you, you are in the right place.

Ways to work together

Therapy and coaching are two different things

Therapy

A licensed healthcare service.

Clinical work with grief, attachment, and identity. It involves assessment, it may involve diagnosis, and it is governed by state law and professional ethics.

Washington State only. You need to be physically located here during sessions, because mental health licences are granted state by state.

Coaching

Not therapy, and not a healthcare service.

Education, reflection, and solution-focused planning, worked through step by step. Navigating the big decisions, rethinking how you approach the relationships in your life, and realigning things around your own hopes and desires rather than the ones handed to you. No assessment, no diagnosis.

Available anywhere. Coaching is not tied to your location.

You do not have to arrive knowing which one you are looking for. Sorting that out is what the free call is for.

Questions

Things people ask before they book

Do you take insurance?

No, I do not take insurance at this time for a variety of reasons I am happy to elaborate on during our initial consultation call.

However, if your plan has out-of-network benefits, I can give you a superbill to submit yourself for potential partial or full reimbursement. It is worth calling your insurance company to inquire.

I also recognize that access to this kind of support can be genuinely difficult for us as a marginalized population. If cost is a barrier for you, please inquire about sliding scale options.

What does it cost, and can I get an estimate up front?

Sessions are $250 for 55 minutes. Packages are three for $750, six for $1,500, and ten for $2,500, all at the same per session rate. Packages expire one year after purchase.

Is it too late? I have been out of the fog for years.

No, and there is no schedule you have fallen behind on. Adoption is something that affects you throughout your lifespan. Different generations also handled adoption differently making it incredibly difficult to talk about or even imagine seeking support or understanding.

Whenever you begin is the time you’re supposed to begin. You are never too young or too old to receive validation, love, and intentional support.

Do you only work with transracial adoptees?

No. I work with all adoptees, and with anyone invested in supporting and centering adoptees, whether or not you are adopted yourself. If you are part of the adoption constellation, you are welcome here.

Transracial adoptees are who I know best, because it is my own experience. The separation, the attachment rupture, and the grief are shared ground. If I am not the right fit for what you are carrying, I will say so on the consult and point you somewhere better.

What actually happens on the free call?

Fifteen minutes, no intake forms, no paperwork. You say as much or as little as you want about why you reached out. I answer questions. We work out whether this is the right room, whether therapy or coaching fits, and where you will be located.

Nobody is assessed or diagnosed on that call, and nothing is decided that you did not decide. If it is not a fit, I will help you figure out where to look next.