Posts by Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker
Chocolate, Starfish & Your Genuine Worth: A Crucial Lesson Learned as an Adoptee
As adoptees, we often have a strong desire to contribute to the world in significant ways in order to prove the worth of our existence to others. This frequently manifests…
Read MoreThe Bedtime Narrative for Kids Who Struggle with Sleep Anxiety
Throughout the years, I’ve had a number of requests for support from adoptive parents who are struggling with their child’s sleep anxiety. It’s an all-too-familiar scenario: “They refuse to let…
Read MoreWhat Does Play Therapy with an Adoptee-Therapist Look Like?
If you haven’t engaged in therapy before, it can feel like a mystery. Here are the guidelines I give to the caregivers of all of my young adoptee clients, which outlines the therapy process and expectations.
Read More“Where Have All the Child Therapists Gone?”
“Why is it so hard to find a therapist for my child?” It’s a question that’s come up with increasing frequency over the past few years, and I’d like to…
Read MoreSeven Hidden Harms in Performative Racial Allyship
If you are white, it may be easy to view performative racial allyship as benign. It’s short-lived and superficial nature does not look much different from other trends – a…
Read MoreWhy “I’m Ready to Listen” is Not the Beginning of Your Allyship
It’s inevitable. Every time there is a major headline involving the murder of an unarmed Black person at the hands of a law enforcement officer, I see the same pattern…
Read MoreThe Single Item that Made Me Understand Racism
It was a Band-Aid. Well, not actually a Band-Aid – just the image of a Band-Aid. So small, yet so damaging. It changed my life – the entire way I…
Read MoreIt’s Time to Expand the Definition of “Helpers”
After tragic events such the two mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton this past weekend (and the numerous shootings prior), many parents are seeking the right words to reassure…
Read MoreWhat We Ask of You
Understand that we do not ask you to hear our voices because we are grieving. We ask you to hear our voices because we are exhausted from grieving. Biologicals cannot…
Read MoreThe Most Empowering Book I’ve Ever Read to My Child
So, you know how most children’s books have that “happily-ever-after-suddenly-everyone-is-best-friends-even-though-the-entire-book-was-about-someone-treating-someone-else-like-crap” kind of vibe? I’ve never been a fan. Sure, I’m all for books with happy endings. But I don’t think…
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