NABI FAMILY THERAPY

Adoption & Identity Therapy in Manhattan Beach, CA

Find Your Place Between Two Worlds - Specialized Support for Adoptees

Growing up adopted means navigating questions that others never face: "Where do I really belong?" "Who would I have been?" "Why don't I fit perfectly in either world?”

As a transracial or international adoptee, these questions can feel even more complex when your appearance doesn't match your family or when cultural traditions feel foreign despite being "yours."

At Nabi Family Therapy in Manhattan Beach, we understand the unique journey of adoptees who feel caught between worlds. Our specialized approach honors both your adoptive experience and your birth heritage, recognizing that belonging isn't about choosing sides; it's about integrating all parts of your identity into a whole, authentic you.

Like the nabi (butterfly) that represents our practice, your transformation doesn't require abandoning who you've been. Instead, we help you discover how your adoptee experience has given you unique strengths: resilience, adaptability, and a deep capacity for empathy that comes from understanding what it means to bridge different worlds.

Adoption and identity therapy is specialized counseling designed specifically for adoptees navigating the complex intersection of belonging, identity, and family relationships.

Unlike traditional therapy, this approach recognizes that adoptee experiences require a unique understanding, from the primal wound of separation to the ongoing process of identity formation across cultures and families.

Our therapeutic process begins with creating absolute safety for your story, including the parts that feel contradictory or confusing. We explore how adoption has shaped your attachment patterns, your sense of self, and your relationships with both adoptive and birth families. This isn't about loyalty conflicts or choosing sides; it's about understanding how your unique journey has influenced who you are today.

For Asian adoptees raised in non-Asian families, we address the additional layers of racial identity development, cultural disconnection, and the microaggressions that can leave you feeling like you don't fully belong in either community. We explore the impact of growing up without mirrors, people who look like you or share your cultural background, and how this absence may have influenced your self-concept and relationships.

Our approach integrates trauma-informed care through EMDR when needed, recognizing that adoption often involves early relational trauma that affects the nervous system. We also incorporate family therapy approaches when appropriate, helping your adoptive family understand your experience and supporting healthier communication patterns around adoption-related topics.

Begin Your Identity Healing Journey Today

Schedule Your Consultation

Key Benefits

Adoption, even when it's the best possible outcome, involves early separation that can create lasting impacts on your nervous system and attachment patterns. Many adoptees experience what researchers call "primal wound", the deep sense of loss and abandonment that occurs when separated from birth mothers, even as infants.
This trauma often goes unrecognized because adoption is typically framed as a positive story, leaving little room for grief or loss. Our trauma-informed approach using EMDR helps process these early experiences that live in your body, not just your mind. In Manhattan Beach's supportive therapeutic environment, we create space for the full spectrum of adoption emotions, including anger, grief, and confusion that adoptees are often told they shouldn't feel.
We help you understand how early trauma may be showing up in your current relationships, work patterns, or sense of self-worth, and provide tools to heal these deep wounds while honoring the complexity of your adoption story.
As an Asian adoptee raised in a non-Asian family, you may have experienced the unique challenge of looking like you belong in Asian spaces while feeling culturally disconnected, and feeling at home in white spaces while being reminded by others that you look different. This between-worlds existence can create a persistent sense of not being "enough" for either community.
We help you develop what we call "cultural integration skills", the ability to honor all parts of your identity without feeling like you must choose. Located in diverse Manhattan Beach, our practice understands the South Bay's multicultural landscape and how to navigate racial identity in predominantly white communities.
Together, we explore your relationship with your Asian heritage, address internalized racism you may have absorbed, and develop strategies for dealing with microaggressions like "Where are you really from?" or "You're not like other Asian people." You'll learn to create your own definition of authentic identity that doesn't require anyone else's approval.
Whether you're considering searching for birth family, actively searching, or have already had contact, the emotional landscape of birth family connection is incredibly complex. You may feel guilt toward your adoptive family, fear of rejection from your birth family, or confusion about what relationship is even possible after decades of separation.
Our specialized approach helps you navigate these waters with clarity and emotional support. We help you process the fantasy versus reality of birth family relationships, prepare emotionally for potential outcomes (including difficult ones), and develop communication skills for these unprecedented relationships.
In our Manhattan Beach office, we create a judgment-free space to explore your motivations, fears, and hopes around birth family connection while ensuring you have the emotional tools to handle whatever unfolds in this journey.

Growing up without access to your birth culture often creates a unique form of loss. You may feel drawn to Asian cultures, foods, or traditions while simultaneously feeling like an outsider when you try to engage with them. This cultural disconnection can show up as confusion about where you fit, shame about not knowing your heritage, or anger about what was lost.
We help you grieve the cultural losses that adoption created while exploring healthy ways to connect with your heritage if you choose. This might include processing feelings about language you never learned, traditions you never experienced, or the absence of cultural mirrors during crucial developmental years.
Our therapists understand that cultural connection is a personal choice; there's no "right" way to be Asian or "right" amount of cultural engagement. We support you in defining your own relationship with your birth culture while addressing any shame or pressure you may feel from others' expectations about how you should connect with your heritage.
Adoption affects entire family systems, and sometimes adoptive families struggle to understand your need to explore identity, search for birth family, or process adoption-related emotions. Family members may feel threatened, confused, or dismissive of experiences they can't relate to, leading to painful communication breakdowns during crucial moments.
Our family therapy approach helps educate your loved ones about adoptee experiences while improving communication patterns around sensitive topics. We help family members understand that your identity exploration isn't a rejection of them, and we give everyone tools for having difficult conversations about race, adoption, and belonging.
Located in family-oriented Manhattan Beach, we understand the dynamics of families who want to support each other but lack the framework for navigating adoption's complexities. These sessions create space for everyone's emotions while building stronger, more authentic family relationships.
As a transracial adoptee, you face unique forms of discrimination that others often don't recognize or validate. Comments like "You're so lucky to be adopted" or "Your parents saved you" dismiss your complex experiences, while racial microaggressions add another layer of invalidation.
Without proper support, these repeated incidents can erode your sense of self and create chronic stress. We help you develop sophisticated tools for recognizing, processing, and responding to these experiences in ways that preserve your energy and dignity.
This includes building a strong internal sense of worth that doesn't depend on others' understanding, learning to distinguish between situations worth engaging versus those better left alone, and developing a support network that truly understands your experiences. Our South Bay location serves a diverse community where we can help you find your voice and build confidence in spaces that may not always feel welcoming.

Our Services

✔ Individual Adoptee

Therapy One-on-one counseling focused specifically on your unique adoptee experience, including identity development, attachment healing, and processing adoption-related trauma. We address the intersection of adoption and race, helping you develop a strong sense of self that honors all parts of your story. Sessions include EMDR when appropriate for trauma processing and somatic approaches to heal early attachment wounds.

✔ Cultural Identity Counseling

Specialized support for navigating racial and cultural identity as a transracial adoptee, including processing cultural disconnection, exploring heritage relationships, and developing resilience against discrimination. We help you define your own authentic relationship with your birth culture while addressing internalized racism and belonging issues.

✔ Family Therapy for Adoptive Families

Specialized support for entire family systems navigating adoption-related challenges. We help family members understand adoptee experiences, improve communication around sensitive topics, and strengthen relationships during identity exploration or birth family search processes. Our approach educates families about adoption's lifelong impact while building tools for ongoing support.

✔ EMDR Trauma Therapy

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing specifically adapted for adoption trauma, including primal wound healing, attachment repair, and processing racial trauma or discrimination experiences. Our trauma-informed approach recognizes that adoption often involves early relational trauma that traditional talk therapy alone cannot address.

✔ Birth Family Search Support

Emotional preparation and ongoing support for all phases of birth family connection, from considering search through active reunion processes. We help you navigate complex emotions, prepare for various outcomes, and develop healthy relationship skills for these unique family connections.

Our Process

1. Initial Assessment & Safety Building

Your first sessions focus on understanding your unique adoptee story and creating absolute emotional safety for all parts of your experience. We explore your adoption narrative, current challenges, and therapeutic goals while ensuring you feel heard without judgment. This phase typically takes 2-3 sessions and includes assessment of any trauma symptoms or attachment concerns that may need specialized attention.

2. Identity Exploration & Integration

We dive deeper into your identity development, exploring how adoption has shaped your sense of self, relationships, and worldview. This includes processing cultural disconnection, examining family dynamics, and addressing any shame or confusion about your adoptee experience. Using various therapeutic approaches, we help you integrate all parts of your identity into a coherent, authentic sense of self.

3. Trauma Processing & Attachment Healing

When needed, we use EMDR and other trauma-informed approaches to process early adoption trauma, racial trauma, or other difficult experiences that may be stored in your nervous system. This phase focuses on healing attachment wounds and developing secure internal relationships that support healthier connections with others.

4. Skill Building & Future Planning

The final phase focuses on developing practical tools for ongoing identity navigation, family relationship management, and resilience building. We prepare you for future challenges and transitions while ensuring you have a strong support system and clear strategies for maintaining your emotional well-being.

Our Approach

Our therapeutic approach recognizes that adoption creates unique developmental challenges that require specialized understanding and intervention.

We integrate attachment theory, trauma-informed care, and multicultural counseling approaches to address the complex intersection of adoption, race, and identity development that shapes your experience.

At Nabi Family Therapy, we understand that healing adoption-related issues isn't about "getting over" your adoption or choosing between your adoptive and birth families. Instead, our approach helps you develop what we call "integrated identity", the ability to hold all parts of your story with compassion while building authentic relationships with yourself and others.

We draw from EMDR for trauma processing, Internal Family Systems for identity integration, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy for emotional regulation skills. Our culturally responsive approach specifically addresses the racial and cultural dimensions of your adoptee experience, helping you navigate discrimination while building a strong cultural identity on your own terms.

Located in Manhattan Beach's diverse South Bay community, we understand the unique challenges of growing up as a person of color in predominantly white spaces while feeling disconnected from your birth culture. Our approach adapts to your specific needs while providing the specialized knowledge and cultural competency that adoptee healing requires.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nabi Family Therapy was founded by Linda Yoon and Soo Jin Lee, who also co-direct the Yellow Chair Collective, creating inclusive therapy spaces in Manhattan Beach for over a decade. Our specialized focus on adoption and identity issues serves the diverse South Bay community with culturally responsive, trauma-informed care.

Learn More

Yes, our therapists have specialized training in transracial adoption issues and understand the unique challenges of being Asian in white families and communities. We address cultural disconnection, racial identity development, microaggressions, and the complex feelings that arise from looking different from your family while feeling culturally disconnected from your birth heritage.
Absolutely not. Healthy identity exploration and processing adoption experiences actually strengthen family relationships by helping you become more authentic and emotionally available. We often include family therapy to help your loved ones understand your journey and improve communication around adoption-related topics.
That's completely normal, and we support wherever you are in that process. Some clients never search, others search immediately, and many explore their feelings about searching for years before deciding. We help you understand your motivations and fears while supporting whatever decision feels right for you.
We help you develop what we call cultural integration skills, the ability to create your own authentic identity that doesn't require choosing between cultures or seeking approval from either community. This includes processing grief about cultural losses while exploring healthy ways to connect with your heritage if you choose.
Yes, many of our clients had loving adoptive families and positive adoption experiences while still needing support with identity, belonging, or adoption-related trauma. Having a "good" adoption doesn't eliminate the complex emotions and identity challenges that adoption creates; it just means you process them differently.

EVERYONE DESERVES TO FEEL THEY BELONG

Ready to Find Your Place Between Two Worlds?

Specialized support and cultural understanding for your identity journey.