EPISODE DESCRIPTION

The right support team in place before placement day can be the difference between surviving your first year of adoption or foster care and truly thriving in it. Press play for a practical, trauma-informed roadmap to building that team, and subscribe to catch every chapter of the playbook.

Episode two moves into the practical side of preparation: assembling a support team before a child comes home, understanding what post-adoption support does and doesn't look like depending on how a family adopts, and budgeting for therapy and coaching. Maxine closes with two often-overlooked pieces: preparing your own nervous system, and preparing the children already in your home for what's changing.

IN THIS EPISODE

00:00 Why assembling support before placement changes how sustainable the journey feels

00:33 Building your team: a trauma-informed therapist, pediatrician, school contact, respite support, and your own support system

01:31 Post-adoption support: what changes depending on how your child joined your family

02:23 Adoption subsidies, Medicaid, and state-funded support groups: foster care vs. private adoption

04:09 Reviewing your insurance and finding an adoption-competent, family-inclusive therapist

04:45 Funding resources mentioned: Step Up, Sylvia Thomas Center, Camelot

06:01 The federal adoption tax credit

06:19 A note: this section is informational, not legal or financial advice

06:45 Preparing Your Own Nervous System

07:17 Preparing the Children Already in Your Home

08:23 Closing thought: preparing everyone for a season, not a single moment

Center for Parent Coaching, Brainspotting & Therapy, LLC · Train. Transform. Thrive.

Every adopted or foster child carries a hidden loss into even the safest home, and that loss is often what's driving the meltdown you're seeing today. Press play for a trauma-informed look at the nervous system science behind adoption and foster care behaviors, and subscribe so you don't miss a single chapter.

In this opening episode, Maxine Golden introduces The Adoption Parenting Playbook and reads through its foundation. She walks through how the book is organized, who it is written for, and what it is and is not meant to do. She closes the episode with the first chapter's core theme: the loss that every adopted or fostered child carries into their new home, even when that home is safe and loving.

IN THIS EPISODE

00:00 Welcome and introduction to the playbook and podcast

00:16 Educational disclaimer: this playbook is not a substitute for individualized therapy

00:50 The frameworks behind the book: Brainspotting, polyvagal theory, TBRI, attachment science, and somatic approaches

01:16 How the book is organized: three parts across 19 chapters

02:30 What this playbook is, and what it is not

03:22 Part One begins: Preparing for Placement

04:08 Chapter 1: The Loss Your Child Carries Into a Loving Home

04:52 In utero trauma, and why “we give them everything” doesn't explain the behaviors

06:50 Holding two truths at once: the placement is good, and the grief is real

07:22 Myths Worth Retiring Before Placement

08:38 Book recommendation: Stephen Porgie's The Body Keeps Score