Resources for Adult Adoptees

Elliott is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and holds a Master’s degree from Augsburg College and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Elliott has had the privilege of working with children, youth, individuals and families of diverse backgrounds who are experiencing behavioral and mental health needs, disruptions in attachment and family relationships, trauma, as well as those experiencing the negative impacts of systemic and structural bias and racism.

Born outside of Seoul, South Korea, I am a transracial, transnational adoptee.

I love working with transracial, transnational adopted individuals (age 17+) who grew up questioning their racial and ethnic identities and wondered, “does anyone else feel this way?”

I draw from a variety of modalities, chief among them being relational (and relatable). I take a developmental and holistic approach to healing, including awareness of developmental milestones on our lives and the lingering impact on our relationships and connections to self and others.

Individual therapy for adolescents and adults

Julie Jong Koch, MSW, LICSW, is a licensed independent clinical social worker and psychotherapist at Watercourse Counseling Center in Minneapolis. She specializes in working with transracial adoptees, POCI (People of color/Indigenous people), queer & trans individuals, as well as others who have experienced individual or community trauma or marginalization. She integrates her professional training and therapeutic skills with her lived experience as a queer-identified Korean adoptee.

Meagan Galbari, MA, LPCC has been working with children and families for over 25 years in a variety of settings including psychiatric hospitals, day-treatment programs, domestic violence refuges, residential treatment centers and in private adoption agencies.  Meagan’s passion is in adoption and foster care and supporting children and families through their journey.  Meagan is committed to assisting parents through the lifelong process of adoption and empowering them with the tools to help children heal while maintaining healthy families.

Katherine Dachtler is an international, Transracial Adoptee who was raised and lives in the upper Midwest. Katherine strives to meet you where you are and aims to uncover and focus on your strengths to empower you throughout your healing journey. She believes each individual has a unique, intersectional framework through which they experience the world. She specializes in working with Adoptees, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA2S+ communities and has worked with folx impacted by medical trauma, differing abilities, sexual assault/abuse, and domestic violence.

I am privileged to have a vocation where I can equip and accompany people on their journey toward healing, allowing them to live a life they were created to live. The path of adoption is an area where I have experience personally and professionally. I have seen how wonderful forming a family can be as well as how difficult. I am experienced in providing therapy to children and adults for over 12 years. My training in EMDR impacts much of what I do and how I supervise other mental health professionals. I understand people thru the lens of attachment, object relations and narrative therapy.