Lynn Earnshaw

Are you an adult adoptee seeking to understand yourself more deeply?

You may feel a lingering sense of disconnection from who you are, difficulty trusting your emotions, or an underlying fear of being left. Perhaps you’ve learned to minimise your needs to stay close to others, or feel like you’re never quite “enough.” You don’t have to navigate this alone.

I specialise in counselling for adult adoptees who want to explore how adoption has shaped their lives — relationships, self-worth, identity, and emotional expression. As an adoptee myself, I bring both lived insight and professional training (MA in Integrative Counselling, specialist adoption training, IFS Level 1) to our work together.

My approach is relational, integrative and trauma-informed. I also include Internal Family Systems (IFS), a gentle way of exploring your inner experience with curiosity rather than pressure. You are free to bring every part of your story here, even the ones you’ve had to hide or protect.

Together, we might explore:

• Identity and belonging

• Emotions that feel hard to find or express

• The impact of early separation or attachment trauma

• Shame, guilt or invisibility around adoption

• Building trust in relationships and in yourself

Every adoptee’s experience is different. Some come wanting to understand their story more deeply; others want support with relationships, emotions or the ongoing effects of adoption in daily life.

My approach is collaborative and relational, with space to explore at a pace that feels manageable for you. I include Internal Family Systems (IFS) within my work, offering gentle ways to meet feelings, patterns and inner responses with curiosity. Therapy can support you to untangle what feels confusing, reconnect with parts of yourself you’ve had to protect, and move towards a steadier sense of who you are.

Sessions are usually weekly and can be open-ended or for a set number of sessions, depending on what suits you. I work in person in Horsforth, Leeds, and online throughout the UK.

Starting therapy can feel like a big step, especially if you’ve carried things alone for a long time. To make it easier, I offer a free 15-minute call. This gives you space to ask questions, get a feel for how I work, and see whether we’re a good fit. If it feels right, we’ll agree a regular session time together.