Bloomington man a national leader when it comes to adoption trauma and healing
MINNEAPOLIS -- Fostering and adoption is a complicated process.
As it turns out, a Bloomington man is a national leader when it comes to adoption trauma and healing and his work is an Instagram hit.
WCCO sat down to learn more from Cameron Small.
He explained his story, "I was born in Korea, I was raised there for about 3 years. And then after my dad passed away, my mom went through the process of trying to decide to relinquish me. At the council of the church, at the council of professionals. Then, after some time in foster care, I was placed with a family in Wisconsin."
It's been four decades since Cameron Small left Korea. But the memories have never left him, "On my quote on quote adoption day, I was terrified. I ran back onto the plane screaming 'Oma, Oma' which means Mom in Korea. Now I am getting in a car with these strangers who are my parents and I love them, getting in a car to go to this strange city, this town, the smells are different, all of the sensory input."
That town was in central Wisconsin, where he assimilated to his new town and loving adoptive parents. He says he remembers the first time he realized his experience was different from his, when kids asked how his white father could be his dad, "The narrative being questioned, why are you two together? That's when I started to realize, something's different about our family."
He suppressed the feeling for a while, "Broken English, these types of caricatures, stereotypes represented in media, I didn't want any part of that so to process or think about it – it was just way too much."
But as a young man, he realized his feelings were shared. He became a counselor -- and now he's a sage for many.
His mission to address adoption trauma is an Instagram hit. Of his success he says, "I give credit to the adult adoptees who've been speaking out for generations, I have learned so much from them. Being able to use my voice and my lived experience, that's what makes the adopted community so important because there are so many people with their experiences and giftings and skills with their own life story to tell. I have been thankful to merge that with my clinical training and say hey we are not alone we are in this together, there's hope, let's collaborate."
Cameron's Wisconsin family is cheering him on - he has a thriving counseling practice out of Bloomington and he will soon release his book, "I'm so grateful my parents have given me the gift of support that I can be freed up to share these resources with people who may be needing it in a very desperate way."
Cam's practice and Instagram page are called "Therapy Redeemed" -- he is based in the south metro but he works with people all over the U.S.
