he second client (N) has now had her baby and with support has her baby with her. This particular client has an older child living at home with her and her partner, her two middle children were placed with social services and have been adopted separately, she has many conflicting feelings, mostly around anniversaries, birthdays and Christmas. In the events that led up to her children being adopted, she was in a domestic abuse relationship while she had her daughter and was pregnant with her second, the relationship was very violent, controlling and both financially and emotionally abusive, it was when her partner locked her in the kitchen and attacked her that she stabbed him, ending up being arrested and charged, and given a suspended sentence, it was when she was pregnant with her third child that the abuse continued to such an extent that she attempted to stab him again and was subsequently jailed for a period of time, a section 20 (c) agreement was signed for the baby, Section 20 (c) of the Children’s Act 1989 states that every local authority shall provide accommodation for any child in need within their area who appears to them to require accommodation as a result of (c) the person who has been caring for him being prevented (whether or not permanently, and for whatever reason) from providing him with suitable accommodation or care. (The Children’s Act 1989, 2018). She stated that she found prison a positive experience and it made her realise that she could cope without her partner, and eventually left him in 2016.

An adoption support agency is defined as an undertaking, the purpose of which, or one of the purposes of which, is the provision of adoption support services (BACP 2018). The law states that no services may be provided by an adoption support agency before it is registered by Ofsted. An adoption support agency might include a government or non-government organisation, a partnership or an individual therapist in private practice (BACP 2018).

The BACP states that local authorities have a statutory duty to provide post-adoption support (BACP 2018). It is lawful, however, to provide therapy to these clients as long as the focus is not on the adoption but on the disen