[kahoxworth]

We had a meeting with our caseworker last week and got on the subject of how a region is selected for us. When she asked about our mental health history and I told her that I'd been treated for depression when I was in college, the look on her face was not encouraging! She said my history alone would probably prove to be the biggest determining factor in designating a region to work with.

Are there regions that are notoriously difficult to work with if you have such a history? Are there some who outright refuse to work with PAP's with a history of depression? I guess I hadn't thought it would be that big a deal; I knew that Russian society viewed mental illness differently and more severely, but I wasn't prepared for the extent of the situation! Now I'm really getting nervous!

What have been your experiences?

[dlhall]

I know that people have had difficulties with some regions (sorry, I don't remember which ones) due to depression. If you were treated in college, how long ago was that? If it's far enough in the past, I doubt it would be a problem. If you are still being treated for depression, you may encounter some problems, but it doesn't mean you won't be able to adopt. Good luck.

Liz

[mauserhaus]

I was grilled for a couple of hours regarding my mental well-being. My region was Udmurtia/Izhevsk. I know the judge was VERY reluctant to grant the adoption, but she did. They see mental issues very differently than the US does.

Good luck - PM me if you have any specific questions.

[amyfk]

Hi Kahoxworth,

Sorry to hear of your response. How discouraging! Like someone else mentioned, for whatever reasons, oftentimes sending countries look down on folks with mental health issues. They dont realize that folks with anxiety and depression can live full lives.
That being said, I have GAD(generalized anxiety disorder) and we adopted successfully from Russia last Oct.
I worked with a large agency(PM me if you want the name), that worked in almost twenty regions of Russia. My social worker made sure we had our dossier placed in a region of Russia where they were more understanding/tolerant of Mental Health issues.
For my dossier I had to do a bit more work. I had to get letters from my psychologist and prescribing psychiatrist as well as copies of their medical licenses for my dossier.
When we were in my region, Tver, we had a judge who was notoriously thorough in her court room and reviewed all documents( but I guess that's a good thing to make sure the kids go to good homes). The couple before me without mental health history had a 2.5 hr. court session. Ours was 4 hrs. but we were granted the adotpion of our baby. She wanted to make sure I was healthy enough to parent.
I would consult with some of the big agencies that work in multiple regions of Russia. They can place your dossier in a more mental health "friendly" region of Russia.
Best of luck, PM me if you want,
Amy K, NJ

[lippylulu]

Pick a large experienced agency with lots of regions and an understanding of which ones are open to people with depresssion. I am an adoptive mom and a psychologist who does adoption psychological evaluations. It is very important that your homestudy agency AND whoever does your psych eval know exactly how to write about this. Lots of people adopt with a prior or current history of depression treatment. If you have been in counseling or on a medication, you can still adopt. If you were hospitalized or are on multiple meds it gets tricky. Feel free to email me privately at LBshrink@aol.com

[DoreenG]

We had to undergo a pyschiatric evaluation for our adoption due to our region, Stavropol. The Pyschiatrist evaluated our overall health and well-being, and I highly doubt that a bout of depression (even medically dx'ed and treated for several years) that was "in college" would have resulted in an un-favorable report. As long as "in college" wasn't last week, that is.

So, while the mental health issue was there with our region, it was not an unreasonable type of report. I was very annoyed at the entire process, but I knew it wasn't aimed at me in particular.

Our agency was IA out of Iowa.

We were looking to adopt an older child, so perhaps that might have been the difference?

[kahoxworth]

I guess I should have been more specific..."in college" was ten years ago. I was on meds for about six months and haven't received treatment since.

We had our psychological evaluation on Tuesday, so I've dropped a line to our home study social worker to see how relevant my past history is in comparison to an evaluation from two days ago. Maybe she'll decide to leave my history out entirely...I can hope!

[ctrose429]

My husband and I adopted from the Perm region and the judge decided two weeks before our court date that we needed a psychological evaluation. Perhaps you can see a psychiatrist who can do a current evaluation and write a letter stating that you are able to handle the stresses of parenting an adopted child? Ask your adoption coordinator, it might be worth a try. Good luck to you