Abstract: | When working with clients who have been adopted, therapists must be alert to the fact that lack of information about the birth mother and feelings of rejection can lead their patients to use defense mechanisms and create fantasies that will affect the transference and countertransference. Using examples from both agency and private practice, this article helps the clinician understand how adoption has affected their client's lives both in and out of the therapy room and suggests ways to modify treatment with a greater sensitivity to adoption issues. |