About Us
Growing Intentional Families Together
Who We Are,
Where We Stand,
What We Believe,
and What We Do.
Founded in 2021 by five adoption coaches who have lived it: an adopted person, a birth mom, and three adoptive parents. Neutral support, never an agency.
When you work with one of our adoption coaches, you work with someone who has lived experience as a member of the adoption constellation, and who practices the same beliefs and skills they bring to you with their own family and colleagues.
Our Story
Five Coaches. One Shared Journey Through Adoption.
Growing Intentional Families Together began in 2021 with five certified coaches: one adopted person, Sharon Butler-Obazee; one birth mom, Kim Noeth; and three adoptive parents, Gayle Swift, Susan David, and Sally Ankerfelt.
The Support They Needed,
Now Here for You
As they talked with one another, they saw that the art of coaching could be an excellent resource for families and individuals impacted by adoption. Wouldn’t it have helped, they thought, to have this kind of support when they were desperately looking for someone who could understand them and help them? With that, the company was born.
G.I.F.T. became the support the founders themselves had needed, confident that their lived experience and training would make a difference in the lives of others.
Courses for parents & professionals
Blog articles and counting
Coaching stages considering, during, after
Podcast episodes and counting
Neutral Support
Where We
Stand
G.I.F.T. is dedicated to being neutral support: not connected to any agency, never matching families and children, and making adoption, when it is necessary, the best it can be while prioritizing family preservation. Coaching does not replace consulting, counseling, or therapy. It fills the space between them, creating an even stronger support system for the adoption constellation. G.I.F.T. adheres to the International Coaching Federation Code of Ethics and practices its Core Competencies within Adoption Attuned Coaching®.
Agency-independent
Never matching
Family preservation
Coaching, not therapy
ICF Code of Ethics
Core Competencies
Our Beliefs
What We
Believe
The adopted person is at the center of the adoption experience.
Adoptive parents take on additional responsibilities and practices. We call this the Adoption Attuned Parenting® approach.
What happens to one member of the triad affects the other members. We call this Tri-Relational Interconnectivity.
Professionals can learn to notice and acknowledge the presence and influence of every member of the constellation within each member of the triad. We call this the TriSpective Approach.
Our Coaching
What We
Do
For Families
G.I.F.T. offers one-on-one coaching to individuals and families across the adoption constellation:
- Considering Adoption
- During Adoption
- After Adoption
- Anyone wrestling with any part of the adoption experience
For Professionals
G.I.F.T. also serves the adoption professional community:
- The Adoption Attuned Coaching® Certification (AACC) and Adoption Attuned Professional Certification (AAPC) courses, which train professionals to work with adoption’s complexity from all three points of view: the adopted person, the birth parent, and the adoptive parent.
- Workshops, trainings, and presentations for adoption agencies, lawyers, and other professionals.
Find the right coach for your family
Not sure which coach is the best fit? Tell us where you are in your adoption journey, and we will help you choose.
