Migrating Toward Wholeness: Adult Adoptees, Storytelling, & the Long Arc of Healing - Dr Liz Debtta

About this episode

Rob Scheer and Dr. Liz DeBetta discuss the lifelong journey of adoption and the transformative power of storytelling in healing.

On this episode of Fostering Change, Rob Scheer sits down with Dr. Liz DeBetta — an award-winning writer, educator, and solo performance artist whose work explores adoption, trauma, identity, and healing through storytelling. Dr. Liz is the founder of Migrating Toward Wholeness, a trauma-informed, arts-based healing framework, and the author of Adult Adoptees and Writing to Heal. Her work centers on an often-overlooked truth: adoption isn’t a moment — it’s a lifelong identity journey. This conversation is especially meaningful for Rob, who reflects on his own experience adopting his son Alex, who joined the Scheer family at 18 and was formally adopted at 22 — a powerful reminder that belonging and permanency have no age limit. Together, Rob and Dr. Liz explore how adults navigate adoption-related grief and identity, why healing can unfold later in life, and how storytelling becomes a transformative tool for reclaiming voice and wholeness. Episode Highlights Late and adult adoption as meaningful and transformative How writing and embodied storytelling support trauma integration What “wholeness” means for identities shaped by early loss The role adoptive families play in supporting…

People in this episode

Host: Rob Scheer

Guest: Dr. Liz DeBetta

Topics covered

• adult adoption
• storytelling
• trauma
• identity
• healing
• grief

Keywords

• adoption
• trauma
• identity journey
• storytelling
• healing
• adult adoptees

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Migrating Toward Wholeness

Books & works: Adult Adoptees and Writing to Heal

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