Lesli Johnson MFT - Living in Adoptionland as an Adoptee Therapist

Living in Adoptionland with Bryan Elliott

Lesli Johnson MFT is as an adoptee therapist helping people in the adoption community to live healthier and happier lives.Want to find out more about Leslie? Visit: www.askadoption.comFrom Lesli's website: "I created Ask Adoption to provide a community for individuals and families created by foster care and adoption and for others who are curious about the adoptive experience. It’s a place I needed when I was growing up, and a resource my parents would have surely benefited from. Ask Adoption is a safe space to connect, learn and find answers to your questions. It’s a place to find comfort and validation. Ultimately it’s a place for healing. I’m committed to raising awareness around adoption issues, elevating the voice of adoptees and providing support and guidance, to adoptive parents, birth parents and families worldwide. I came “out of the fog” in my mid 20’s after spending most of my life believing that separation from my biology was not relevant to who I was or how I viewed the world. Adoption was just a word that meant I was “special” and birth parents were colorful characters (likely rock stars) created in the fantasy world I visited regularly. I spent many years in therapy, racked with anxiety but none of the therapists I worked with helped me connect my symptoms to the early loss I experienced. They didn’t think it was relevant because I was “lucky to have been adopted by wonderful parents.” While it is true I was adopted into a good family, it is also true that those early separations from my biological mother and then my foster family did matter. Fast forward to present day. I’ve connected the dots of my adoption story and understand that my feelings were normal and helped shape who I am. My personal experience led me to my profession working as a Licensed Therapist and Coach and Consultant, specializing in adoption and related issues. Fascinated by the brain as it relates to implicit memory and trauma, I became trained in EMDR and Brainspotting – two power therapies that have become pivotal in my work with clients. I write about adoption, I’m an invited speaker at adoption related conferences and most important, I work with individuals, couples and families just like you. Whether we meet in person, virtually or in a group, we’ll collaborate and transform your confusion, grief and anxiety into clarity, insight and resilience. Visit www.YourMindfulBrain.com to learn more about my work in private practice."AREAS OF EXPERTISE:AnxietyDepressionAdoptionBrainspottingEMDRRelationship challengesParentingTransitionsCrisis InterventionGrief, loss and trauma