Lynn Earnshaw Counselling
Therapy for Adult Adoptees - Compassionate Adoption Counselling
A safe space to explore your story, your feelings, and your sense of self with someone who understands the lifelong impact of adoption.
Hi, I’m Lynn - an adoptee, counsellor, and someone who knows that adoption weaves through a life in complex and often unspoken ways. I hold an MA in Integrative Counselling, specialist training in adoption work, and Level 1 training in Internal Family Systems (IFS). I offer therapy for adult adoptees online across the UK, and in person from Horsforth, Leeds.
Some parts of adoption don’t come with words - they’re felt, carried, known without explanation. You don’t have to find language for it first. We start from shared ground and from there, we can explore what adoption has meant for you in your life today.
I offer adoption counselling for adults, with warmth and respect for of your story.
Living with Adoption
Adoption can offer roots and connection, and still leave spaces of loss, uncertainty or disconnection. More than one feeling can be true at the same time.
Experiences you may recognise as an adoptee
Identity Confusion
Your identity may feel scattered - two families, two histories, and a self forming between them.
Low Self-Worth
Carrying a quiet belief that you are not enough, or working endlessly to earn your place.
Feeling Out of Place
Like you’re always on the outside looking in - never fully belonging, even in places that should feel safe.
Shame and Guilt
Feeling wrong for wanting answers, or guilty for having feelings at all about your adoption story.
Abandonment Fears
Carrying a fear of being left or replaced, even if it’s hard to explain why.
Misunderstood
Others telling you to “be grateful” or to move on, while your truth remains unseen and unheard.
If these experiences feel familiar - whether you’re navigating reunion, holding complicated emotions, or simply wanting to understand how adoption has shaped you - you don’t have to do that alone.
As an adoptee and counsellor, I understand how deep and quiet these feelings can be. My own experience shapes the way I work: with curiosity, compassion and respect for the complexity of your story. Together, we can explore what adoption has meant for you - in identity, in relationships, and in the ways you’ve learned to move through the world.
You won’t need to explain or justify your experience in sessions. There will be space for the parts of you that have felt hidden or unspeakable, and room to move gently, at a pace that feels safe and manageable for you.
How can therapy help?
Understand Yourself More Deeply
Stay curious about the parts of you shaped by adoption - even the ones without words yet
Feel More Worthy Over Time
Turn towards the part of you that doubts your value, and meet it with care instead of criticism
Feel Steadier in Relationships
Slowly build a sense of inner security, so connection feels possible rather than risky
Know Your Feelings Are Valid
Your emotions don't need defending - they make sense in context, and they matter
Find Ways to Meet Pain with Support
We can make space for the ache of not-belonging, without having to face it alone
Therapy can be a place to turn inward with support - to meet the parts of you that have been holding your story, to stay with what feels tender or unfinished, and to find more room to breathe around what once felt tight or overwhelming. You won’t be doing this alone.
Here, When You're Ready
If you’d like to explore whether we might work well together, I offer a free 15-minute introductory call - a chance to meet, ask questions, and get a feel for whether this support feels right for you.
You’re welcome to get in touch using the button below, whenever you feel ready.