Helping Foster and Adopted Children to Grieve the Loss of Birthparents: A Case

Working with children and adolescents in the foster care system whose biological parents ’ parental rights have been, or are soon to be, terminated can present numerous challenges for counselors. Children in these situations often struggle with identification of conflicting feelings, grief resulting from the absence of the parent/parents, and reorientation to life in a new family. In this article, a case from the author’s clinical experience is presented and related to the stages of grief suggested by Kübler-Ross and to Worden’s tasks of mourning. Practical applications and interventions are considered. Keywords adoption, foster children, grief, loss of birthparents, counseling children One of my first experiences on my path to becoming a counsel-ing professional was working with a foster child named Mark (name and specific details changed to protect anonymity). Mark was an 8-year-old African American boy who was living with his third foster family in less than 6 months. He was removed from the care of his mother due to her drug addiction, lack of appropriate housing, poor school attendance, and abuse