‘Creating Safety Before Speech: A Nervous System Approach to Selective Mutism’ is being run with a practical focus which is research-based. It is ideal for those who are new to the topic, and for those who have an awareness of selective mutism and are looking to further their knowledge, understanding, and skills. Rather than focusing on verbal output, the webinar explores communication through a brain-body and nervous system framework, understanding why children freeze, mask, or shut down even when language and cognitive skills are present.
Booking
Sign up 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. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD/CME certificate via email.
ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD/CME certificate
Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
EARLY BIRD £5 (until 23/03/26, then £10) for ACAMH Members (Print, Online, Concession) Join now and save
EARLY BIRD £10 (until 23/03/26, then £20) ACAMH Learn Account holders
EARLY BIRD £10 (until 23/03/26, then £20) Non Members
£5 ACAMH Undergraduate/Postgraduate Members
FREE LMIC Members
About the session
Selective mutism is often approached as a speech or behavioural difficulty. However, for many children, silence is better understood as a nervous system response to perceived threat. In this talk, Anna Biavati reframes selective mutism as a form of protective shutdown, where the voice is not absent but waiting for safety.
Anna explores how anxiety, pressure, and relational dynamics influence the body–brain–voice connection, including in bilingual children. The presentation introduces a nervous-system-informed framework that integrates movement, emotional regulation, and family dynamics as foundations for communication.
Rather than focusing on techniques to elicit speech, this session highlights why pressure-based or exposure-led approaches can unintentionally increase shutdown. Through practical examples, case reflections, and accessible neuroscience, Anna demonstrates how safety, predictability, and co-regulation create the conditions for brave communication to emerge naturally.
This talk offers a clear reframe of progress and equips attendees with practical insights to support readiness for communication before words.
Learning outcomes
- Identify selective mutism as a nervous-system-based protective response rather than a speech or behavioural disorder.
- Explain how safety, emotional regulation, and bodily readiness influence a child’s ability to communicate.
- Recognise how adult expectations, family dynamics, and relational pressure can unintentionally maintain communication shutdown.
- Apply simple, body-based and relational strategies that support regulation and readiness before speech.
- Reframe progress in selective mutism by recognising all forms of communication and help parent how to support and not rescue
Who should attend
This session is designed for professionals who want a deeper, more integrated understanding of selective mutism, communication shutdown, and anxiety beyond a speech-only perspective. Professionals include, but are not limited to:
- Practitioner psychologists ( educational, clinical and counselling);
- Speech and language therapists;
- Counsellors and therapists;
- Occupational therapists; and
- CAMHS practitioners etc.
About the speaker
Anna Biavati is a Speech and Language Therapist and founder of Steps to Brave Talking Therapy and Support. She works with children with selective mutism and anxiety, and provides training and guidance to professionals supporting them and their families. Drawing on over 15 years of international experience, Anna combines brain-body science, movement, emotional regulation, and a Family Dynamic Approach. She developed the Brave Muscle Method to reframe speech as a capacity that grows through safety, not pressure, when the nervous system is ready.
Booking
Sign up 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. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD/CME certificate via email.
ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD/CME certificate
Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
EARLY BIRD £5 (until 23/03/26, then £10) for ACAMH Members (Print, Online, Concession) Join now and save
EARLY BIRD £10 (until 23/03/26, then £20) ACAMH Learn Account holders
EARLY BIRD £10 (until 23/03/26, then £20) Non Members
£5 ACAMH Undergraduate/Postgraduate Members