Sexual and Reproductive Health For Adult Adoptees

Course Description:

Adoptees have, for many years, been pathologized instead of having their own voices taken into account. The overall expectations that behavioral and emotional adjustments within the individual would solve mental health challenges and sexual challenges and “issues” is the main narrative that has haunted the adoptee community for decades. The area of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) is deeply unprioritized for adoptees all over the world. The connection between mental health and sexual health is clearly established in research and our profession, but understanding of the adoptee-specific experience is still low.

This course will provide you with important understanding based on narratives and personal stories from adoptees, described from a life perspective and from an SRHR perspective within our universal human rights framework. We will explore the intersections of adoption, attachment theory, race, and identity formation, and touch on some of the challenges in building intimate…