How Can I Help Our Son?

When I got married, my husband had custody of his son from a previous marriage. I adopted his son and our family was complete. Fast forward and my husband and I are divorcing. My soon to be ex-husband does not want custody. How can I help our 10 year old son deal with having had both of his biological parents abandon him?

You have already taken a step in helping him deal with loss, as you added so much to his life by adopting him after you married his father. While you cannot control what his biological parents choose to do, you can access counseling services for your son. In our book, we make no bones about "calling in the big guns" when you need them. This is the exact situation where a professional therapist makes a hell of a lot of sense. If you are unsure as to where to find a therapist, you can ask your son's pediatrician for a referral, ask other parents if they have heard of anyone they can recommend, and/or you can call your local community mental health office. Another resource is the Association For Play Therapy which has valuable information about Play Therapy as well as a search engine that can help parents locate a certified Play Therapist in their area.