Hello, thank you for visiting
About Me
Hello, my name is Lara Leon. As an adopted person myself, my work is rooted in lived experience and developed through years of supporting others as they explore identity, loss, healing and self-understanding.
I work with adopted adults who are beginning to untangle the deeper layers of what their adoption means. Through writing, videos, personal sessions and reflective tools, I offer steady and compassionate support for people who feel the lasting impact of adoption in their day to day lives and which may last a lifetime.
What I Offer
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Insights and support around identity, grief, guilt, reunion, relationships and early loss
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Thoughtful resources that speak honestly to the emotional complexity of adoption
On my YouTube channel, I speak about the experience of being adopted, both from my own experiences and from those of others I have had the privilege to work with. I share both my research findings and reflections on the parts of the journey that often go unacknowledged.
Research
If you are interested in research-backed findings around adoptive parenting, then you're in the right place! Read on.
In 2019 I began a research project that asked the question “Levels of well-being in adults adopted as children – what can we learn?”
The research concluded in December 2020, and whilst none of it was particularly surprising, I was able to distil the research down to 6 key points for adoptive parents to consider in order to support the attainment of wellbeing in their adopted child through effective adoption parenting.
Background
Welcome to the website and thank you for taking the time to read.
Since 2011 I have been immersed in the world of psychology, counselling, self development, wellbeing and psychotherapy. I have been supporting people with their wellbeing and mental health in private practice for many years, supporting a wide range of issues, including issues of identity, anxiety, low mood, loss and relationships. In 2019 I embarked on a research study looking at wellbeing in adult adoptees.
My parents adopted me via private adoption at 9 days old in 1970, in England. Back then there was very little education around for adopting parents. They didn't know much about the separation trauma, they didn't give thought to the loss I had endured as a baby having been separated from my mother.
Like many would-be parents unable (or so they thought at the time) to conceive, they thought adopting a baby would be the answer. The answer for themselves and for me - a baby who needed a home. They were ill-prepared for the difficulties ahead, through the different phases of my development, for my internalising behaviours and later complicated attempts at understanding my identity.
It was a bumpy ride, one fraught with pain for us all, and frequent bouts of low mood and anxiety on my part.
But my experiences led me to self-help, to therapy, to psychology to psychotherapy and ultimately to adoption research.
I wanted to understand how the adult adopted community fare in terms of their wellbeing, when compared with the general population. And what I found was no surprise to me. I found that adoptees are over-represented in therapy, misunderstood and frequently lonely with their feelings. They feel guilt and a sense of betrayal towards the adoptive family for feelings that are entirely natural, and yet this side of the story is rarely discussed openly.
My purpose is to bring this to the awareness of all those involved in adoptive parenting now and into the future. So that all adoptive parents and prospective adopters can do their bit towards supporting adoptees in their quest for living with wellbeing. You can read more about the research here, and see my YouTube videos on this topic here