I was born in Busan, South Korea around noon on October 8, 1984, and immediately surrendered at birth. Even though I was adopted by a close and loving family in West Michigan and grew up within a supportive extended family and small community, it is still painful having my initial entry into the world be an unendurable sense of grief and loss: of a mother, a home, a country, and a culture, even of my original name, Jin Jung Mee.

Growing up without any genetic mirroring, I felt rootless, and it was difficult for me to feel tethered to the messiness in myself and in the world. To find grounding, I had to restore the connection to my heart, body, and natural environment that had been severed at birth. I’m still not sure if it’s the peculiar way trauma shapes a certain quest for understanding, meaning and self-questioning, my own personality, or my innate love of learning (it’s probably some combination of all of those things with a bit of mystery I’ll simply never know), but I wasn’t content to live my life feeling fragmented and disconnected to many aspects of myself. I also didn’t accept that change and transformation wasn’t possible without being reunited with my biological mother, as I had been told by one of the leading adoption psychologists in the field.

I am just too creative for that. I am here on this life path to embody myself, to truly accept what arises within me and express it, so that I may serve as a healing guide and mirror.

Here are some initial resources and offerings that I’ve compiled specifically for adoptees, as well as some resources for all of the adoption triad with a focus on trauma healing, identity and wholeness. This page is still being curated to make sure the information is as comprehensive and beneficial as possible, so please check back again soon for more resources!

In January–July 2022, I completed a fieldwork study guiding other Korean adoptees through the Tamalpa Institute Life/Art Process, an expressive arts approach for transformation that includes movement/dance, artmaking, writing, and performance-based ritual. The study included six months of 1:1 coaching and monthly three-hour group workshops exploring the themes of solidarity, empowerment, connection, and whole self expression to provide each participant with tools to integrate their personal stories, identity politics, soul-based metaphors, and psychological material. I also included myself as artist/researcher/teacher in relationship with the other participants and to my own life/art process.

Throughout the study, I discovered the personal metaphors and psychological process of each participant mirrored my own experiences in the healing arts in significant ways. My study was completed under the supervision of creative director and Korean shaman, Dohee Lee, and the findings were presented at the Seventeenth International Conference on The Arts in Society through the Arts in Society Research Network via paper and companion video essay. Both are now up for anyone to view on Academia.edu!

Are you looking for a therapist or coach who is experienced in issues that come up in adoption?

Check out Unraveling Adoption’s Healing the Adoption Constellation Database of practitioners here!

I’m happy to be listed in the database alongside such amazing colleagues.

While I’m not offering s(e)oul expressions right now, if you’re interested in working with me individually, I can offer sessions in integrative somatic-based expressive arts focused on aspects of adoption, healing trauma and identity issues.

Coaching with me opens up space for adoptees at the individual and interpersonal levels to

: : unite and find strength within yourself and relationships with others

: : tend to the ancestral wisdom and roots that grow inside of you

: : express who you are in the world and share your voice with confidence, trust and authenticity

If this resonates with you, and you’d like to learn more about working with me, I offer FREE Express Yourself Wellness sessions to get to know more about you and what’s happening in your life.