About Jonathan Pannor

My background includes a Master's degree from the school of Social Welfare, UC Berkeley, with a specialization in direct services with families, individuals and groups and a focus on gerontology. I have broad experience facilitating both individual, family and group therapy.

Adoption related work is a significant part of my private practice and the educational programs that I offer. I am careful to differentiate between my mental health practice and adoption education. The post-adoption workshops that I conduct focus on helping parents to establish good communication with their children about adoption. After all, if children don't find answers for questions from their parents where will they turn? Most parents agree that they would prefer to be the ones who help their children understand how their family came to be created.

My mentor in the field of adoption is my father, Reuben Pannor, a pioneer in the field of open adoption and co-author of "The Adoption Triangle." Even as a child I was steeped in talk about adoption. I grew up viewing adoption as one of many ways to build a family and knowing that openness in adoption is essential to the well being of children. My father taught me that it is our role as parents to help children integrate awareness of the positive and more difficult aspects of their origins into the totality of their identity so that they can feel whole. This can allow children to more fully participate in a world wherein adoption is one part of the bigger picture of their lives. He also taught me that parenting and having a family can be a wonderful experience and should be celebrated!

My first jobs were in mental health settings helping seniors with a wide range of challenges including depression, isolation, loss, and grief. I provided groups and individual therapy for clients. This lead naturally into working with those who provided support for their elderly family members. These caregivers were living with extraordinary burdens, often raising children and caring for parents with Alzheimers Disease and other debilitating conditions. A career that started out in gerontology grew into a private practice that serves people of all ages in many circumstances.

If you would like more information please send e-mail to: jonpannor@post-adoption.org