Child Neglect and Emotional Abuse: Understanding, Assessment and Response

Protecting children from emotional abuse and neglect is a serious and complex area of social work practice. This book takes readers step-by-step through the underlining theory, skills and practice of working with vulnerable children, highlighting essential contemporary research evidence throughout.

Part 1: Understanding introduces the nature and consequences of child neglect and emotional abuse, including up-to-date knowledge about the physiological impact of childhood malnutrition and emotional deprivation.

Part 2: Assessment considers in detail the factors which can contribute to the complexity of the assessment process and explains assessment procedures.

Part 3: Response offers insights into positive interventions, including some innovative modern therapies and family management approaches such as ′PACT′.

Using a series of case studies to make complex skills and knowledge accessible, this is essential reading for students and professionals across disciplines that may come into contact with vulnerable children.

Celia started her professional career as a social worker in a local authority children’s team but under the 1968 Seebohm Report reforms became ‘generic’. Subsequently, she focussed on psychiatric social work then for over eleven years was a specialist in child protection employed by the NSPCC. After a break for family commitments, she acquired qualifications in psychology recognised by the British Psychological Association and became an independent play worker. Subsequently, while working as a senior lecturer in university settings she undertook research into the emotional abuse of children, which culminated in a doctoral thesis. She has published extensively in the field of child protection. She continues to research and lecture in child protection particularly in early childhood studies at the University of Northampton.  

Charles D Timms

Charles originally qualified in biomedical sciences at Southampton University where he developed an interest in the influence of very early experiences on later health outcomes and the Barker hypothesis. He undertook research into foetal malnutrition then continued his investigations into the impact of childhood nutrition on health in later life at Swansea University. He also gained insights into the nature and effect of head injury and brain lesions, including those associated with substance misuse, while working at St Andrew’s Hospital in Northampton. He then turned his attention to the practical application of his studies and in order to qualify as a doctor, became a graduate-entry student studying medicine at St Georges, University of London.