Our last guest offered us some insight into her experience as a transracial adoptee. This week, we continue our exploration into this realm. In a society designed to ensure that people of color feel "othered," what do prospective parents need to know when considering adopting a child of a race or culture different from their own?

Enter our next guest, Delois Pearsall, LMSW, a professional adoption counselor who specializes in transracial and transcultural adoption. Delois lets us in on what happens behind the scenes when family members of different races merge. She stresses the importance of helping adopted children cultivate a strong sense of personal identity, while  supporting the adoptive parents in their capacity to hold the space the children need to thrive.

Through her work at Adoptions Together, Inc., Delois provides psycho-educational and attachment based therapy to families who are considering adopting children placed with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services. She provides transracial and transcultural adoption training to prospective parents, and she co-facilitates support groups for children and parents who are impacted by transracial and/or transcultural adoption. Delois earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland.