ADULTS DEFINING CHILD ABUSE CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT PHYSICAL ABUSE SEXUAL ABUSE EMOTIONAL ABUSE CHILD NEGLECT REPORTING SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE PREVENTING CHILD ABUSE WHAT IS A CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER? CAC LC TEAM MEMBERS LINKS YOUTH NEWSLETTER VIEW THE LATEST CAC NEWSLETTER	EMOTIONAL ABUSE Emotional Abuse (psychological/verbal abuse/mental injury) includes language or treatment used by a caretaker to make a child feel threatened, unwanted or unloved. Emotional abuse could cause, serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental disorders. In some cases of emotional abuse, the acts of parents or other caregivers alone, without any harm evident in the child's behavior or condition, are sufficient to warrant child protective services (CPS) intervention. For example, the parents/caregivers may use extreme or bizarre forms of punishment, such as confinement of a child in a dark closet. Less severe acts, such as habitual scapegoating, belittling, or rejecting treatment, are often difficult to prove and, therefore, CPS may not be able to intervene without evidence of harm to the child.