Trainers/Workshop Facilitators

Theodora Ann Drescher, MSW, LCSW

Trainer / Workshop Facilitator

Adoption Love and Service

WA License  LW00004297

Tacoma, WA

(253) 324-1185

Theadrescher@gmail.com

Thea is a 45 year old adoptive mother to a 4 year old little girl adopted from China. Her passion for adoption work was peaked as a result of her own adoption journey. Since 2005 Thea has found joy and delight in helping children and families find each other. She has nearly 25 years of social work experience with high risk youth which has been a solid foundation in her success with adoptive families.

Thea has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Boston College, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her concentration in both academic programs was on clinical social work with children and families. She has been a child and family therapist in community agencies and in Special Education Programs in several school districts.  She finished her work in Special Education as a Behavior Consultant to school administrators and teachers.  

Thea has been teaching Psychology, Sociology, and Human Services at the college and university level since 2000. Currently she has been assigned to teach at the University of Washington, Tacoma in the School of Social Work Program. She has taught in the elective and core classes of the undergraduate and graduate programs. It has been her pleasure to introduce attachment and adoption issues to all her students and especially the graduate students in the Advanced Clinical Practice Class.

As a Social Worker in an Adoption Agency, Thea had the responsibility to coordinate, organize and present educational materials on adoption issues to families waiting to adopt. She was also instrumental in creating a Parent Training Manual that is still in use today.

These monthly workshops included topics such as:

ATTACHMENT AND BONDING IN ADOPTION

GRIEF AND LOSS ISSUES IN ADOPTION

EFFECTS OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

TRANS RACIAL FAMILY ISSUES

Suzanne Engelberg, PhD

License-WA1948

206-542-7516 ext.105

DrEngelberg@gmail.com

18532 Firlands Way N, Suite A Shoreline, WA 98133

Dr. Engelberg is a popular workshop leader on topics of child development, parenting and school difficulties with nearly 20 years of experience. Her workshops have been sought out by professionals, community groups and parents. Sample topics have included:
• White Parents Raising Children of Color-What Every Parent Should Know
• Attachment in Foster Care and Adoption
• Preparing for the Teen Years
• Communicating with Your Child
• Family Therapy and Adoption
• Adolescent Girls’ Development
• Positive Parenting for Preschoolers
• Helping Children Behave at School
• Learning Disabilities in the Classroom
• Understanding Sexual Minority Youth

Dr. Engelberg’s qualifications include being a Licensed Clinical Child Psychologist with nearly 20 years experience leading workshops and providing therapy for adopted children and their families. She has additional expertise with multi-cultural families and families with lesbian or gay parents.

Dr. Engelberg is a past Senior Clinician for the Adoption Resource Center of Children’s Home Society of Washington, and past Coordinator of the Jewish Adoption Consultation, Information and Referral Service of Jewish Family Service. She is a former school counselor and school psychologist, and has been quoted in national magazines.

Dr. Engelberg says, “Teaching is one of my great professional joys. I use humor and real-life examples to create dynamic, interactive workshops that are fun, interesting and useful. Participants leave my training's feeling energized, enthusiastic and ready to put their new knowledge to work.”

Dr. Engelberg is available for partial-day, full-day, and multi-day workshops and trainings. The length and specific topic will be tailored to fit the sponsoring organization.

Dr. Engelberg also provides Therapy Services, Parent Educator/Family Coaching Services and Pre-Adoption Consultation Services.

Katie Stallman, LICSW, CGE

LW 00005340

Seattle, WA
206-240-4185

katiestallman@yahoo.com

Katie has been a practicing clinician for nearly 12 years and a passionate advocate for children and families impacted by adoption and foster care for the past 20 years. She received her Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in 1998 and became a licensed clinician in 2000. Since then, she has worked in both public and private child welfare settings providing case management and therapeutic services to both children and families. She has experience providing individual, group and family therapy to children and birth families in the foster care system. In that role, she also provided foster parents with extensive education and support. She also worked at an open adoption agency for nearly eight years providing education, and both pre and post placement support services to birth and adoptive parents. She counseled birth and adoptive families on issues related to parenting, transitions, grief, loss, attachment, conflict-management, and communication. She expects to complete the Certificate Program in Foster Care and Adoption Therapy in March of 2011 and will be available to provide more therapeutic services at that time.

Currently, Katie is a facilitator of the Bringing Baby Home Workshop ™. When Katie became a parent two years ago, she participated in this workshop which was developed and based upon the 30 + years of marital research by Drs. John and Julie Gottman. Amazed by the skills she and her partner learned, she became certified to teach it and added some additional curriculum to make the workshop more salient for adoptive parents. For more information about the workshop please go to http://bbhonline.org/.

This workshop is a two-day workshop generally occurring on consecutive Saturdays or Sundays. Adoptive and foster families parenting or expecting to parent children up to the age of two are welcome to attend, though some materials are more specific to those parenting children under the age of one. Workshops can be scheduled upon request and are currently scheduled for February 12th and 19th and May 7th and 14th.

Workshop participants can expect to learn how to:
Increase friendship in their relationship
Deal effectively with conflict
Allow each partner to be involved in parenting
Improve the quality of parent/child interaction
Recognize the psychological and emotional needs of their child

Workshop participants will also discuss issues related to attachment, post-adoption depression, and how to more effectively manage the additional stressors inherent in the process of adoption.

To register or for additional information, please contact Katie at katiestallman@yahoo.com

Yolanda Comparan, MSW

888-777-1538

Yolanda@adoptionreferralservice.com

Yolanda is an adoption expert who knows adoption as a professional with a Master’s of Social Welfare and as a parent by adoption to two middle-schoolers. Her training expertise is valuable and appropriate for parents and professionals.

Yolanda provides training in the following topics:
• Starting out in adoption: Is it right for you?
• Education and the schools: How to help your child succeed.
• Advocating for your child in the schools.
• Promoting your child’s cultural pride.
• Books and other resources to improve your understanding of your child and improve your family life.
• Gifts and Passions: Encourage and support pride and self esteem in your child.
• Resources available to families and professionals.
• Open adoption: Tips on how to make it work for you, your child, your family and birth family

Yolanda offers two to four hour workshops/training sessions custom designed to address your needs, questions and concerns. Material presented can fulfill requirements for international adoptions and private agency adoptions.

Participants will leave workshop with;
• Reliable written resources
• Up to date information and a recommended reading list
• Books to review during and after workshops

Call to discuss training options for your group or agency.