Speaking Engagement
Supporting Racial Attachment Needs with Transracially Adoptive Families
Virtual WebinarVirtual training hosted by Hudson Valley Professional Development for New York Psychologists seeking continuing education credits. Join Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker for an insightful and enlightening discussion addressing the complex dynamics of transracial adoption. Through the lens of the seven core issues in adoption combined with her groundbreaking model of the racial and cultural identity needs…
PESI 2025 Play Therapy Summit: Play Therapy for Adoptive Children and Families: Navigating the Seven Core Issues in Adoption to Create Healthy Self-Expression, Attachment &Trauma Healing
Virtual WebinarAdoption introduces unique emotional and behavioral complexities that significantly shape a child's needs and experiences. For clinicians working with adopted children, understanding the Seven Core Issues in Adoption—loss, rejection, guilt/shame, grief, identity, intimacy, and mastery/control—is essential for effective intervention. Join Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker, PsyD, a licensed psychologist, international/transracial adoptee, and adoptive parent, alongside Sabra Starnes,…
From Blow-Up to Bonding: Finding the Balance of Attachment-Focused Discipline in Adoption
Our Savior's Lutheran Church 909 W. 33rd Street, Sioux Falls, SD, United StatesKeynote speaker for conference hosted by Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota. How can you turn moments of struggle into moments of connection? Discover how brain development, implicit memories, and the “6 F’s” (Fight, Flight, Freeze, Friend, Fidget, Flop) can influence your adoptive or foster child’s reactions to traditional methods of discipline, and develop compassionate,…
Transracial Foster and Adoption Placements: Assessing Prospective Parents for Fit with the Racial and Cultural Identity Needs of Youth in Care
Virtual WebinarHosted by the Catalyst Center to continuing education credits to California mental health providers. Maintaining the racial and cultural identity of fostered and adopted youth of color in transracial placements is crucial to supporting their lifelong mental health, but it can be difficult to determine how those needs will be met by caregivers who do not…