Our Approach.
You can trust us to furnish you with as much detail as possible, and we will do this with respect and confidentially to all parties involved.
How We Work
Once you reach out we will send you on a PDF containing all necessary information, including our costs.
We will then follow up and arrange a call or meeting with either the Irish or US team, depending where you are in the world. Here you will discuss your story and how far you wish to trace. We will talk you though our services and walk you through the steps ahead.
We offer a number of different options, varying in price and detail. This details will be listed in the PDF which you will have already received. If you simply wish to know who and where your family are, we can provide this information. Or if you would like our team to reach out and visit your birth family, gathering stories, old photographs, medical records and medical history (where possible) we can do this. We can ask the questions that have been playing on your mind for years. We can also research your wider family; siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, fully piecing together your history.
We will then take over and gather as much information from you as possible. It is at this stage we get to work.
Once we have completed the trace, with permission from your birth family, we will collate what we find and provide you with a full report.
What We Need From You
The practical side and what we need from you to get started.
All adoption documents including the Decision of the Court, original Russian Birth Certificate and Adoption Certificate
Name and address of your orphanage in Russia
Letter from the maternity hospital signed by the birth mother
Any additional information that your adoptive parents might have – for example, information on any siblings (if they stayed in Russia or if they were also adopted), information on grandparents, any old photographs from your time in Russia
Essentially we would like a copy of everything you have, but understand some of the above may not be available or relevant to you. We will do our best with what you have.
Therapeutic Supports
Trace My Story provide a fully supported wrap around service.
Dr Joanna Fortune BA MA Post Grad Cert and Dip, published author, known to most from Irish her Irish media profile, will over see and advise on the therapy side of Trace my Story. She heads up a panel of excellent therapists that will be availbale to you at different times.
She has specific experience in this area, she can provide one to one or online therapy sessions to anywhere in Ireland or beyond. Joanna knows Russia very well, as she worked with us there for many years. She has a full understanding of these stories and the emotions attached. She is a perfect fit with us, on your journey.
We recommend 2 to 3 meetings following receiving a full report as it can be very emotional and sometimes require someone outside the family circle to help you assimilate the information. This is an optional but advised service and will be at your own costs. All therapy fees including Joanna's fees are completely between your self and the therapist as needed, and extra to your tracing fees.
We also feel it is vital to support the birth mother through this journey and if she chooses to opt for therapy in Russia, Trace My Story will cover the cost.
