Childhood verbal abuse is characterised by adults shouting, yelling, denigrating, and verbally threatening the child. These types of adult actions can be as damaging to a child’s development as other currently recognized and forensically established subtypes of maltreatment such as childhood physical and sexual abuse.

This free webinar is open to all, and is organised by ACAMH’s Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Special Interest Group. It webinar will be led by
Professor Shanta R. Dube, Director of the MPH Program at the Levine College of Health Sciences, Wingate University, Jessica Bondy, founder of the charity Words Matter, and Fiona Pienaar, child and adolescent mental health specialist, was previously a Director of Clinical Services at the charity Place2Be.

Booking

Sign up to this FREE webinar at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time.

• ACAMH Members attending will be eligible for a FREE electronic CPD certificate. Members MUST login to book onto the webinar and get their certificate.
• Non-members can opt to receive an electronic CPD certificate for just £5, select this option at the point of booking. This is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer
• PLEASE NOTE: You cannot book onto this event after the event has started on Tuesday 13 February, 17:00 UK time

Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’. 

About the webinar

Child maltreatment is defined as an adult or other caregiver engaging in acts that harm or omit needed care to a child. There are currently four subtypes recognised that comprise child maltreatment: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Of the four, childhood emotional abuse has increased in prevalence and a defining attribute is adult-to-child perpetration of verbal abuse.  Childhood verbal abuse is characterised by adults shouting, yelling, denigrating, and verbally threatening the child. These types of adult actions can be as damaging to a child’s development as other currently recognized and forensically established subtypes of maltreatment such as childhood physical and sexual abuse. Yet there is less attention to childhood verbal abuse (CVA) perpetrated by adults as its own category of maltreatment.

Recent research will be presented that demonstrates CVA is largely a hidden problem because it is subsumed within the definitions and terms of childhood emotional abuse, childhood emotional maltreatment, childhood psychological abuse, and childhood psychological maltreatment. Although it is a hidden problem, it is a major component of all forms of maltreatment and is preventable.

About the Speakers

Professor Shanta R. Dube is Professor and Director of the MPH Program at the Levine College of Health Sciences, Wingate University. Shanta received an MPH in epidemiology from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, and PhD in Behavioral Health from the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health. In 1999, she joined the CDC as a Preventive Medicine Fellow and served as one of the early investigators on the landmark CDC-Kaiser ACE Study, leading to CDC awards for scientific excellence and international recognition. Since 2014, she has led and engaged in various global initiatives related to ACEs science, trauma-informed care, and substance use disorders. She has over 130 publications. She serves as an Advisory Board member with Child Advocacy Centers of North Carolina and serves as Associate Editor for Child Abuse & Neglect, The International Journal.

Jessica Bondy, Founder of Words Matter, the new charity on a mission to end verbal abuse of children by the adults. Jessica has spent over 20 years supporting some of the world’s leading organisations and brands. As well as being a director of a number of global PR agencies, she also founded a multi award winning communications agency and coached and mentored young people to help them realise their potential. She founded Words Matter as a result of her own personal experience and that of the people she coached who had been so impacted by the words they had heard when growing up.  It is on a mission to improve children’s mental and physical health and development by helping to end verbal abuse of children by adults. It is the first organisation in the world to focus solely on addressing this issue. Launched in September 2023, through research, raising awareness of the lasting damage of childhood verbal abuse and collaboration with others it aims to inspire action and fuel change.

Fiona Pienaar, is a child and adolescent mental health specialist, coach, and a former teacher with over 30 years’ experience. She was most recently Senior Clinical Advisor with Mental Health Innovations (MHI)/Shout 85258 and was previously Director of Clinical Services at the UK charity, Place2Be. Fiona spent many years as a teacher in primary and intermediate schools, special needs education, and counselling in schools. She has also undertaken mental health research and developed educational and mental health resources.  She has taught on the postgraduate counselling/ psychotherapy programmes at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and the University of Cambridge, plus the CONTED programme at the University of Oxford. Her research has focused primarily on children’s experiences of stress and coping. Fiona has a PhD in Behavioural Science from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland and an MEd in Counselling.

Booking

Sign up to this FREE webinar at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time.

• ACAMH Members attending will be eligible for a FREE electronic CPD certificate. Members MUST login to book onto the webinar and get their certificate.
• Non-members can opt to receive an electronic CPD certificate for just £5, select this option at the point of booking. This is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer
• PLEASE NOTE: You cannot book onto this event after the event has started on Tuesday 13 February, 17:00 UK time

Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’.