The Dunbar Project CIC

We’re so excited to announce that our community will be making a poetry zine! Click this link to donate: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/t… Click this link to find out more vm.tiktok.com/ZGe2MoCFP/

✨ Joy is resistance. For adoptees, choosing joy isn’t ignoring the complexity, it’s reclaiming space to feel, to celebrate, and to exist beyond survival. Joy is proof that healing is happening, even in small moments.

Belonging isn’t always something we’re handed, especially when we hold multiple marginalised identities. Many adoptees learn to build the spaces that see them, and there is power in that kind of self-defined community and connection.

🧠 1–1 Therapy Waitlist Now Open If you’re looking for individual therapeutic support rooted in adoptee experience, our waitlist is now live. Your healing journey doesn’t have to be walked alone, support is available. 📌 Join via the link in bio

🌿 Chosen Family & Community Care Not all family is defined by blood. For so many adoptees, healing happens in the spaces where we are seen, understood, and held without needing to explain ourselves. Chosen family is love in action, care we build together.

So many adoptees carry this question quietly, learning how to hold pieces of identity that never quite seem to fit anywhere. You deserve a space where you don’t have to shrink, hide, or translate your experience. You deserve to simply be.

Code‑switching isn’t just about words — it’s survival. For adoptees navigating multiple layers of identity, each shift comes with emotional effort, stress, and vigilance. It’s not just linguistic; it’s racial, cultural, relational, and deeply felt in the body.

Living between worlds can be exhausting. For adoptees navigating multiple identities, our bodies carry the weight of constant adaptation.

💭 My Adoptive Family Experience with Star 🗓 Wednesday 26th November 2025 🕖 19:00–20:30 BST 🎟 Tickets via Eventbrite (link in bio)

Dear adoptee, you don’t have to shrink, soften, or rewrite yourself to fit someone else’s comfort.

When you feel overwhelmed, your body already knows the way back to safety. 🖤 This week’s post offers a few gentle somatic grounding practices — simple ways to come home to yourself when things feel too much.

Code-Switching Fatigue (Adoptee Edition) 🤎 🤎 You’ve always been whole. You just got good at surviving.

🎃 Halloween & Adoptees 🕯️ For many, Halloween is a time of costumes and fun, but for adoptees, themes of identity, masks, and belonging can hit differently. This season, let’s hold space for both play and reflection, for exploring who we are beneath the costume.

🗣️ So many adoptees grow up without the support they need, even when the need is clear. This statistic is a reminder that access to therapeutic, trauma-informed care isn’t optional, it’s essential. Source: PAC-UK Big Consult of Adopted People (2023)

Adoption isn’t a one-time event... it’s a lifelong journey. Each season brings new reflections, emotions, and opportunities to understand ourselves more deeply. Growth, grief, and healing can coexist, all are part of the story.

🧠 Finding a Therapist as an Adoptee 🧠 Therapy can be a powerful space for healing, but finding the right fit matters, especially for adoptees. These slides share tips and things to look for when choosing a therapist who understands the layers of adoption and identity.

“Adoptees deserve spaces where their whole story is welcomed — not just the parts that feel comfortable for others.”

Deconstructing & Decolonising Identity 🗓️ Monday, 24 November 2025 🕕 6:00–7:30 PM BST 🎟️ Tickets via Eventbrite

Adoption isn’t a one-time event it’s something we carry through every season of life. As adoptees grow, new layers of understanding (and pain) can surface: 💭 Identity questions in adolescence 💔 Triggers in relationships or parenthood 🌑 Grief that returns in unexpected moments

“Getting older does not erase adoption. It often makes its impact clearer.” Adoption isn’t something you outgrow. It’s something you grow with — and sometimes, grow through.

Since 2021, one of the biggest requests we’ve received is: “Will you ever offer 1–1 therapy for adoptees?” We’re so happy to finally say: YES. From late 2026, 1–1 therapy with Shania will be available. Our waitlist is now open ✨