This past year, Pam Cordano and I have met with two different groups of adopted people, one group on Wednesday afternoons and one group Sunday mornings. (Pam and I both wake up at 5:30 AM to be ready for the 6:30 AM start, and it was so worth it.) I learned so much doing this work. I saw how adopted people truly flourish when immersed in the love and attention of other adopted people. I saw how much community matters. I saw people bond and say things they had never said to another person. I saw people laugh a lot, cry a lot, listen hard, talk with great courage. It was such a wonderful experience. 

Pam and I are both entering radical changes in our lives starting in 2022, and we will be returning to the in-person adoptee retreats we used to do before COVID when it feels safe to gather in one room again. I am moving to Boston, and I will be able to see Joyce on a regular basis so we can brainstorm and create together, in person! It has been a dream of mine to work with Joyce as she knows adoption and adoptees on a level that not many people can match. Joyce feels like home to me as she has the Boston thing going on, the no-nonsense, let me tell you what I really think thing, the I am smart and I know things thing, the I have seen this before and let me tell you what I think thing. The I love you too much to let you go on a date with that guy that I think is a clown (true story and thank you, Joyce; you were right). 

We are going to dedicate seven months to investigating the seven core issues of adoption: grief, rejection, guilt, loss, identity, control, and intimacy. We will focus on how we as adopted people can use community, deep thought, and meaningful connections to find our way our truest, most powerful, loving selves. 

We will meet via Zoom Sunday mornings from 9:30-10:30 EST. (Note: the very first and very last meeting will both be 2 hours long, going from 9:30-11:30.)  

The class will go from January 9th through July 24th. The fee is $150 a month, except for the first and last month which are $200 because we will have a longer first and last session. If you want to pay all 7 months upfront, it is $1,100. There are no refunds. We ask that when you sign up, you commit for the entire seven months. This means even if you decide to stop showing up physically, you are still committed to paying each month since you took a spot. If you need a sliding scale, let us know.  

To reserve your spot, you can Venmo the first payment to me at anne-heffron, or you can use Paypal (anneheffron@gmail.com).

Limit 30 participants.

About Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao

Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao, (Ed.D., LCSW, LMFT) was the Founder and CEO of Center For Family Connections, Inc. (CFFC - est. 1995) in Cambridge, MA, and New York. Adoption Resource Center was founded in 1978 and PACT (Pre/Post Adoption Consulting and Training)—established in 1982—became part of CFFC from 1995 to 2012, and they are back standing on their own as of March, 2012. 

Dr. Pavao is building comprehensive post adoption services throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as Riverside After Adoption Through Riverside Community Care and is doing an extensive project with the Department of Mental Health in Massachusetts. Dr. Pavao works to improve the systems and to take the business out of adoption. She has done extensive training, both nationally and internationally. She is a Lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and she has consulted to various public and private agencies, schools, and the court system. Additionally, she has worked closely with individuals, and families created by adoption, foster care and other complex blended family constructions. She has developed models for treatment and for training using her systemic, intergenerational, and developmental framework The Normative Crises in the Development of the Adoptive Family and her book The Family of Adoption (1998/2005) has received high acclaim. Dr. Pavao has received many awards and honors, including the Adoption Excellence Award for Family Contribution (2003), and the Angels in Adoption award (2000).