The Intersection of History, Adoption, and Mental Health
by Astrid Castro, Founder & CEO of Adoption Mosaic
Encompass Adoptees Adoption Issues Online Speaker Series
Presentation Description:
At one point or another in our lives as adoptees, we will explore what we had to lose to be adopted. During this time of exploration many adoptees will also learn the dark side of adoption history and most likely will be at a loss of how to exist in the both/and. "I love who I am AND I don't love what I had to go through to get here". When talking about adoption it is common to leave out the history of how adoption began in the United States. In this course, we will dive into the importance of understanding the history of adoption and its impact not only on our society, but also on our adoptee community. We will use the Adoptee Consciousness Model to explore the intersection of the history of adoption, adoptees, and our well being.
Presenter Bio:
Astrid Castro (she/her/hers) is the founder and CEO of Adoption Mosaic. Adoption Mosaic is a BIPOC adoptee, woman-led business that seeks to build an inviting adoption conscious community by providing innovative adoptee-centered programs and support.Including a monthly virtual panel series called We the Experts: Adoptee Speaker Series. Astrid has a degree in sociology with an emphasis in adoption. For twenty plus years, she has traveled the country to lead youth groups, present workshops on transracial parenting, talking with children about adoption, and various other workshops focusing on adoption. Prior to creating Adoption Mosaic, Astrid worked in both the private and public sectors of various adoption organizations such as the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC), Holt International and Rocky Mountain Adoption Exchange.
Astrid co-authored Adoption in the Movies, which takes the reader on a guided tour of 27 movies and documentaries that are ‘dripping with adoption’ which are asking questions that encourage viewers to engage in ongoing dialogue and discussion. She also developed an innovative, evidence-based, 27-minute training DVD titled, Adoptive Parent Training:Developing Communication Skills. The training demonstrates how adoptive parents can communicate openly and honestly with family, friends and especially children. Astrid is a former member of the board of directors of the North American Council on Adoptable Children, the author of many articles on the subject of adoption, and contributor to the book Parenting as Adoptees.
Astrid’s personal experiences as an adoptee, a woman of color, and growing up in a white family and community, fuel her professional path to helping others. Astrid is aware of the benefit of post-adoption services for individuals and their families and seeks to bring these services to the adoption community. Her life-long interest in adoption is rooted in her own adoption at the age of four from Colombia (along with her older sister). Astrid has been in reunion with her birth family in Colombia since December 2011. Read about Astrid’s journey of searching and finding her birth mother in The Oregonian.
When Astrid is not working she loves to spend time with family, friends, and enjoying the adventures of life as the mama of an amazing daughter.
Cost— $15 — Special thanks to Ohio Kinect for funding this speaker series