5 Truths No One Tells You About Being Adopted
A Workshop for Adult Adoptees, from a Licensed Therapist Who Is Also an Adoptee
Are you an adult adoptee who's spent your whole life being 'the grateful one' — even when gratitude wasn't the only thing you felt?
Do you find yourself editing your adoption story depending on who's asking, so you don't have to explain the parts that are actually complicated?
Have you ever wondered about your birth story, or felt like an outsider somewhere — even in your own family — and quietly wondered if something's wrong with you for feeling that way?
Imagine being able to say the whole truth about your adoption — the love and the loss, the gratitude and the grief — without fear of hurting the people you love, or being seen as ungrateful.
Imagine not having to brace yourself every time someone asks 'so were you, like, adopted-adopted?' or pushes you for the tidy, feel-good version of your story.
Imagine finally having language for that quiet sense of not fully belonging — and realizing it's not evidence that something is wrong with you.
This is possible. And it's exactly what you'll start learning in this workshop.
I get it — you've probably tried to just push the hard feelings down and focus on the good. You've probably told yourself you have no right to feel grief, loss, or anger when your adoptive family did their best. You may have tried talking to friends or family who love you but don't have the context to really understand — and walked away feeling more alone, not less. None of that is a failure on your part. It's because most people, even the ones who love you most, were never given the language for what you're carrying.
This is where I come in.
My name is Melissa LaCour.
I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in adoption-competent care — and I'm an adoptee myself. I help adult adoptees stop performing gratitude and start owning the full, unedited version of their story, so they can finally feel like they belong to it.
This workshop is the guidance I wish I'd had years before I ever found it — long before I had a therapist, formal training, or even the language to describe what I was feeling.
What You’ll Learn in the Workshop
You've learned to suppress grief because expressing it feels like ingratitude. You’ll learn a reframe that lets you hold love and grief as equally true, at the same time — without one canceling out the other.
You freeze or over-explain when someone pushes you for the "positive adoption story." You’ll learn a short, ready-to-use response you can practice live in the workshop, so you're never caught scrambling in that moment again.
You feel like an outsider sometimes and read it as a personal flaw. You’ll learn a name for that feeling that turns it from "something's wrong with me" into "this is a known adoptee experience" — recognition that starts to loosen its grip.
Who This Workshop Is For
Adult adoptees who are ready to stop editing their story and start understanding it more fully
Adoptees who feel the pull between gratitude and grief and want language for both
Anyone who's never had space to talk about adoption with someone who actually gets it firsthand
Adoptive parents or anyone who loves an adoptee to better understand the experience of adoption
Who This Workshop Is Not For
This is psychoeducational, not group therapy — it's not a space for real-time crisis support or in-depth processing of trauma
If you're currently in an acute mental health crisis, this workshop isn't a substitute for individual care — please reach out to a crisis line or your provider first
This isn't for adoptive or birth parents looking for parenting strategies (that's a different workshop) — this one is built specifically for adoptees themselves
Ready to stop performing gratitude and start owning your whole story?
Spots are limited to keep the workshop personal and interactive — grab yours now.
Upon purchasing your ticket, you’ll be sent a PDF with a link inside to the LIVE Zoom Workshop.
Not Ready Yet?
Want to learn more in the future? No pressure — if now isn't the right time, send me a message and I'll let you know the next time this workshop (or something like it) is happening.