Hi! My name is Ashley Toland — I am a clinical social worker, professor, passionate mental health advocate, and someone who was adopted at birth.

If you’re an adopted person seeking therapy, you might find yourself wrestling with feelings that are hard to name—loss, confusion, identity struggles, or complex emotions around family. A framework for understanding the impact of adoption across the lifespan and informing adoption-informed care, every adoption story is unique. Understanding the Adoption Trauma Spectrum (ATS) may be a helpful way to make sense of these experiences and guide you toward increased understanding and healing. Below I will share the framework with some examples from my own experiences.