Jennifer L. Ayres, Ph.D., ABPP, HSP
- In-Person in Central Austin | Telehealth Nationwide
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Based in Central Austin
In-Person & Virtual Care
Jennifer L. Ayres, Ph.D., ABPP, HSP
Start with a free phone call
Adoption brings real joy and real complexity. At Still River Counseling, I support families at two key points: Pre-adoption evaluations for future parent(s) pursuing domestic or international adoption, and Therapeutic support for families and couples before and after children arrive.
Together, we’ll name both anticipated changes and the changes already unfolding, explore how adoption shapes family identity (including navigating a new multi- or bi-racial family structure), strengthen connection with your child or teen, and build routines and boundaries that support everyone in the home.
My approach is integrative and trauma-informed. We focus on settling the nervous system, translating big feelings into words and actions, supporting the family as it establishes a new identity, and helping parents set limits while honoring a child’s history, culture, and family of origin.
Evidence-based strategies to build connection and navigate family changes.
Pre-Adoption Evaluation
Attachment & Connections
Emotional Regulation
Sensory & Nervous System Settling
Morning/Evening Routines
Sleep Support
School Stress/Refusal
Learning/Attention Concerns
Identity & Life Story
Adoption-Related Grief
Openness & Birth‑Family Boundaries
Bicultural/Multicultural Care
Limit Setting Without Shame
Parent Coaching
Sibling Dynamics
Family Transitions
Co‑Parenting Alignment
Communication Scripts
Behavior Plans
Trauma-Informed Tools
Collaboration With Schools
We support families through each step of the adoption process, the pre-adoption evaluation, preparation for a successful transition, and the post-transition adjustment. We’ll explore anticipated concerns and generate practical solutions. Once your child arrives, we’ll start with what’s hardest right now, behavior, routines, school, or connection, and map how past experiences may be shaping today’s struggles.
I use an integrative, trauma-informed approach tailored to your child’s developmental stage, integrating CBT skills, behavior supports, mindfulness, and parent coaching to build steadier days.
Parents receive practical tools: when to step in versus when to step back, realistic expectations about attachment, limit-setting that protects dignity, ways to incorporate a child’s background and identity into the family’s new identity, and language that honors that history. We’ll clarify openness boundaries, support cultural and identity needs, and coordinate with schools when helpful.
The focus is on changes you can see, calmer routines, clearer expectations, and more connection.
I offer in-person sessions in Central Austin and secure telehealth sessions for clients located in states where I’m licensed to practice and in participating PSYPACT states. I am not in-network with any insurance companies, but I can provide a superbill for you to submit to your plan if they reimburse for out-of-network services, or for use with your HSA/FSA.
Share a few details and I’ll follow up with a quick call to see what your family needs and whether we’re a good fit.
It means I understand adoption’s unique impacts (attachment, identity, grief, trauma) and tailor care to honor a child’s history and family of origin.
As a child trauma psychologist, I have worked with foster, kinship, and adoptive families for more than 25 years. I also have personal experience as a foster parent and completed the required training and coursework to foster, foster-to-adopt, or adopt children through the DCFS/CPS system. This combination of clinical and lived experience informs the support I provide to families throughout the adoption process.
Both. Adoption work typically involves a combination of individual counseling, family counseling, and parent coaching, based on the family’s specific needs. We’ll decide together what mix of support best strengthens connection, routines, and stability at home.
I use an integrated approach that combines realistic expectations with consistent limit-setting, natural consequences, and communication that supports a growth mindset and self-compassion. My goal is to avoid shame, both toward the child and toward their birth family, while helping caregivers build structure, predictability, and emotional safety at home.
Yes. We’ll explore the challenges and benefits of open adoption and work together to navigate birth-family contact in a way that supports the child, honors both families, and maintains healthy boundaries.
We explore the challenges of blending cultures within a family and identify practical ways to honor a child’s culture at home and school. We also discuss how to build connections with supportive community resources so your child can see their identity reflected and affirmed in daily life.
Yes, when helpful and with signed consent. I can collaborate with teachers and school staff to explore accommodations, support behavior and emotional needs, and discuss strategies for managing learning or cognitive challenges.
I provide therapy, supports, and pre-adoption evaluations. I do not offer broad psychological testing for autism, learning disabilities, or neuropsychological concerns. I do offer ADHD evaluations for diagnostic clarification and provide strategy sessions that translate results into specific, practical tools you can use in daily life.
Yes. For younger children and many teenagers, in‑person is usually more effective.
