Presentation Title: The Healing Power of Adoptee Friendship

Bio: Catherine Leckie Koley is a mother of three, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Instructor and adoptee speaker, writer and educator. After reuniting with her birth family at age 43, Cathy found herself on an unexpected healing journey related to her own relinquishment. The process included psychotherapy, holistic and body-based interventions, and yoga - through which she found significant healing and a new career path. Cathy and her first mother, Arlene Donovan, enjoyed a happy and successful 15-year reunion before Arlene’s unexpected passing in 2021. Both were actively involved in the adoption community. As a yoga teacher since 2012, Cathy is a frequent participant at adoption conferences where she shares strategies for unearthing and healing adoption wounds and teaches mind-body practices that help with adoption-related difficulties. She is also an experienced support group facilitator for adult adoptee and constellation groups and has helped Celia Center (https://celiacenter.org/) in that capacity since 2020. Cathy trained in Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in 2014 with Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, and David Emerson, author of Overcoming Trauma through Yoga. She is currently pursuing an MA in Counseling Psychology.