ABSTRACT
Throughout my educational history, quotations have always held a very special place for me. Some quotations seem to have the magic to capture the essence of a situation or idea in a very simple but very powerful way. This quotation from the foreword to The Psychological Maltreatment of Children and Youth by Brassard, Germain and Hart captures for me the essence of emotional abuse. My aim in this chapter is to consider and analyze these words in greater detail. The questions I shall be looking at are:
(i) What is emotional abuse? (ii) What is emotionally abusive parenting? (iii) What are the consequences for children and young people? (iv) How can it be assessed? (v) What is the role of education staff in this process?
