Explore every episode of the podcast Care Visions Talks

Why do distressed young people sometimes become aggressive or violent? In this powerful conversation, Lucy Johnston talks with Carly Kingswood – Attachment and Trauma Therapist, DDP Practitioner, former foster carer, and co-author of The Unofficial Guide to Therapeutic Parenting for Childhood Aggression and Violence – about the underlying reasons for violent behaviour and how caregivers can respond with empathy and skill.

Together, they explore the complex biological, psychological, and environmental factors that can lead to aggression in children, from trauma and disrupted attachment to challenges with emotional regulation. Carly shares practical, therapeutic strategies for de-escalating difficult situations, rebuilding trust after conflict, and creating safer, more connected relationships with young people in distress.

This episode offers compassionate, evidence-based guidance for foster carers, parents, and anyone raising or supporting young people, helping listeners move beyond fear and frustration to truly understand the needs driving challenging behaviours.

About our Guest:
Carly Kingswood is an Attachment & Trauma Therapist, Consultant, Trainer, Author, and DDP Practitioner with over a decade of experience supporting adopted and fostered children, kinship placements, and their families. A former foster carer herself, she now works with families and organisations to embed trauma-informed, therapeutic care.

About our Host:
Lucy Johnston is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and the host of the Care Visions Family Talk podcast. With a career dedicated to amplifying stories around social care, health, and children’s welfare, Lucy brings insight, empathy, and investigative rigour to every conversation.

In this in-depth conversation, Humphrey Hawksley sits down with Richard Cross to explore the principles and application of trauma responsive practice — an approach that goes beyond simply being “trauma-informed” to actively embedding compassion, understanding, and responsiveness into professional care.

Richard shares his insights on the lasting impact of trauma on children, families, and communities, and discusses how professionals can adapt their practice to meet people where they are. They examine the emotional demands of frontline work, the need for reflective spaces, and how organisations can create cultures that prioritise resilience, empathy, and safe, supportive relationships.

This episode offers practical guidance for professionals across social care, residential care, fostering, education, and health, providing tools and reflections to help embed trauma responsive practice in everyday work.

If you want to deepen your understanding of trauma, learn how to integrate trauma responsive principles into your organisation, and discover ways to sustain yourself and your team in challenging roles, this conversation is a must-listen.

In this heartfelt episode of Care Visions Family Talk, Public Health Doctor Dr Linda de Caestecker spoke with renowned family therapist and author Caroline Penney, who brought both professional expertise and personal insight to the conversation on parenting.

Drawing from her book The Parenting Toolkit, Caroline explored why self-care is essential—not selfish—and how caring for ourselves directly supports our children’s wellbeing. She also reflected on how our own childhood experiences shape the way we parent, often in unconscious ways, and offered gentle, practical guidance for breaking unhelpful patterns and parenting with more confidence, connection, and compassion.

What Listeners Took Away from the Episode:

• The importance of self-care as a foundation for effective parenting
• Insight into how generational patterns influence our approach to raising children
• Practical tools for navigating parenting with greater balance and ease
• Encouragement to reflect, learn, and grow in a supportive, non-judgemental space

About Our Guest:

Caroline Penney is a systemic family therapist and leading parenting expert with over 30 years’ experience. A descendant of Sigmund and Anna Freud, she has dedicated her career to supporting families through evidence-based parenting courses and therapeutic work. Caroline’s background spans nursing, teaching, and community-based parenting education, including her leadership of the Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities project at South London and Maudsley Hospital. Her programmes—such as Baby and Us, Being A Parent, and Understanding Teenagers—have reached families across the UK and internationally in countries including Australia, Nigeria, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

For more information, visit: Caroline Penney – Parenting Specialist and Family Therapist.

In this inspiring episode, Clinical Psychologist Dr Bettina Hohnen joined Public Health Doctor Dr Linda de Caestecker for a compassionate and insightful conversation on neurodiversity. Dr Hohnen shared her unique approach, blending cutting-edge scientific research with empathy and practical wisdom, to help listeners better understand and support neurodiverse children.

What Listeners Gained from the Episode:

• A clear understanding of what neurodiversity means
• Guidance and support for parenting neurodiverse children
• Strategies for creating safe, nurturing environments where children can thrive
• Practical tools for applying the science of neurodiversity in everyday life

Whether parents, carers, educators, or professionals, listeners walked away with valuable insights to help nurture mental health, celebrate neurodiversity, and lay strong foundations for wellbeing.

About Our Guest:

Dr Bettina Hohnen is a Clinical Psychologist who specialises in supporting parents and families in the context of neurodiversity. With a background in academic research and teaching at UCL, she brought both depth and clarity to the conversation, translating complex scientific ideas into accessible, actionable strategies. Known for her warm, trust-building approach, Dr Hohnen is passionate about helping young people grow by supporting the adults in their lives to create the right conditions for them to flourish.

Children and young people who had experienced adversity in their early years often struggled to cope with their day-to-day lives. In this live online event, Dr Laura Steckley discussed and described approaches that could help them overcome developmental injuries through care and relationships.

Who was this talk for?
This talk was intended for anyone with an interest in children’s wellbeing and development. It was especially relevant for professionals working with children and young people in social, educational and community-based settings, as well as anyone considering a career in youth work, residential child care or fostering services.

About our guest speaker: Dr Laura Steckley
Formerly a practitioner and manager in residential child care in both the USA and Scotland, Laura became a senior lecturer at the University of Strathclyde, School of Social Work and Social Policy. She led the MSc in Advanced Residential Child Care and researched and published widely on a range of subjects related to child care practice and approaches.

Alongside Ruth Emond and Autumn Roesch-Marsh, Laura co-authored A Guide to Therapeutic Child Care. The book reflected their shared passion for making theory and research accessible and useful to practitioners supporting children in their care.

About our host: Humphrey Hawksley
Author, commentator and broadcaster, Humphrey Hawksley reported on major global trends, events and conflicts, most notably in his role as a BBC foreign correspondent. His work included documentaries examining human rights abuses in global trade, the failures of international development, the nuclear industry and democracy across different societies.

Humphrey was also the author of the acclaimed Future History series and had published four international thrillers. His writing appeared in most major broadsheets, and he had lectured at many of the world’s most prestigious universities.

In this episode, Dr Linda de Caestecker from Care Visions Family Talk sat down for a practical and heartfelt conversation with Stewart McClean from Mellow Parenting to explore what truly makes parenting effective, compassionate, and impactful. Rooted in the belief that strong relationships are the foundation of every child’s development, Mellow Parenting brought deep insight and warmth to the discussion.

What Listeners Took Away from the Episode:

• How small, intentional actions can strengthen relationships and build resilience
• Practical, accessible techniques for creating a nurturing family environment
• Real-life stories of how Mellow Parenting has empowered families to thrive

About Our Guest:

Stewart McClean, National Development Officer at Mellow Parenting, brought over a decade of experience as a trainer and practitioner. His role involved supporting Mellow practitioners across the UK, delivering programmes alongside families, and sharing insights from the incredible work being done to support children, young people, and carers. A father of two teenagers, Stewart also enjoyed coaching football in his spare time.

About Mellow Parenting:

For over 25 years, Mellow Parenting has remained committed to enhancing family relationships, mental health, and overall wellbeing. They support partner organisations in delivering evidence-based early intervention programmes through training, supervision, peer learning, and collaborative opportunities - creating lasting, meaningful change for families across the UK and beyond.

In this one-hour interview with live Q&A, hosts Linda de Caestecker, a Public Health Doctor, and Mark Nelis, Fostering Operations Manager, were joined by Dr David Reilly, a highly respected NHS Doctor with over 40 years of experience and an expert in transformative change. Together, they explored how parents and carers can stay calm, grounded, and resilient while navigating the emotional turbulence of the teenage years.

Even the most patient parents can feel overwhelmed by the intensity and unpredictability of adolescent behaviour. In this insightful session, Dr Reilly offered compassionate, practical guidance drawn from his extensive clinical experience. Drawing on themes from The Parent’s Compass: Finding Balance in Your Teen’s Storm, he provided a steady framework for reclaiming emotional balance, managing reactions, and being a calming presence for teens in distress.

Listeners gained valuable tools to:

• Reclaim calm and regulate their own emotions when teen behaviour feels overwhelming
• Communicate with compassion to reduce conflict and build trust
• Prioritise their own wellbeing in order to show up fully for their young people

This session offered thoughtful, evidence-informed advice for anyone parenting or caring for teenagers who wants to feel more confident, centred, and connected — even in the eye of the storm.

In this one-hour interview with live Q&A, hosts Dr Linda de Caestecker, a Public Health Doctor, and Sarah McEnhill, Head of Fostering for Care Visions, were joined by parenting expert, author, and founder of The Wellbeing Hub, Alicia Drummond, for a powerful discussion on teenage anxiety and how parents and carers can provide effective support.

Parenting or caring for a teenager today can often feel overwhelming. With the weight of academic pressure, social media, and complex friendships, many teens struggle with uncertainty about their future — and rising anxiety levels are a growing concern. In this session, Alicia offered thoughtful, evidence-based guidance on how adults can help teenagers build the resilience and confidence they need to thrive.

Drawing on her extensive experience and her work with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for a Fit and Healthy Childhood, Alicia explored the root causes of teenage anxiety, challenged common misconceptions, and provided practical advice for supporting teens — including what to do when they won’t listen and when it might be time to seek professional help.

Listeners came away with valuable insights and takeaways to better understand and support the young people in their lives, building stronger foundations for a more secure and positive future.

In this one-hour interview with live Q&A, hosts Dr Linda de Caestecker, a Public Health Doctor, and Scott Kyle, an Actor and Foster Carer, were joined by renowned parenting expert Anita Cleare for an engaging and insightful conversation on parenting and caring for teenagers in today’s fast-paced, noisy world.

Drawing from her latest book, How to Get Your Teenager Out of Their Bedroom, Anita shared everyday actions to build stronger connections, practical blueprints for encouraging reluctant teens to engage, effective communication tips, and strategies for handling many of the challenges parents and carers commonly face.

Listeners gained a much deeper understanding of teenage dynamics, along with actionable tools and strategies to support them through this often-tricky stage. The session opened the door for greater confidence in navigating the teenage years, whether you're a parent, carer, or simply looking to support young people more effectively.

About our featured guest:

Anita Cleare is a parenting speaker, writer, and coach with over two decades of experience supporting families. With a background in developmental psychology, she is known for her practical, evidence-based guidance that fosters real change. Her award-nominated blog Thinking Parenting has been featured in The Sunday Times Magazine as a must-read for parents. Anita has spoken at events across the UK and internationally, and her advice has appeared in outlets including the BBC, CNBC, The Telegraph, and The Times.

Family Talk Live: ADHD, Trauma and the Young Mind
Caring for children with complexity – with Professor Helen Minnis

Caring for a child with ADHD brings energy, individuality, and challenge - and when trauma is also part of their story, the path can feel even more complicated. If you've ever found yourself stuck in a loop, wondering how best to support a young person in your care, this episode was made for you.

In this special edition of Care Visions Family Talk Live, we welcomed Professor Helen Minnis (University of Glasgow) to explore how trauma and neurodiversity intersect, and to share practical, research-informed approaches for supporting young people with complex needs.

About our guest:
Helen Minnis is Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Glasgow. Her long-standing clinical and research work has focused on the psychiatric impact of abuse and neglect in childhood. Her recent research includes randomised controlled trials of infant mental health services for children in foster care and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy for primary school-aged children in adoptive or foster placements.

Helen also leads behavioural genetic studies investigating the role of abuse and neglect in the context of neurodevelopment across the life-course. Her collaborative work spans institutions including King’s College London, the Universities of Aalborg and Aarhus in Denmark, and the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Hosted by:
Dr Linda de Caestecker, a leading public health expert with over 30 years’ experience. Former Director of Public Health for Greater Glasgow and Clyde, she currently advises the Scottish Government and holds board roles with Community Justice Scotland and Glasgow City Mission.

Raising children today means guiding them through an online world that changes rapidly. In this episode of Care Visions Family Talk, we explored a growing digital trend every carer should understand. Some online spaces aimed at boys and young men promise brotherhood and belonging, but also promote unhealthy and extreme ideas about gender, relationships, and identity. These spaces can be confusing and harmful, especially for teenagers who are still shaping their sense of self.

Professor Harriet Over, a psychologist from the University of York, joined Dr Linda de Caestecker to unpack how carers could recognise harmful online influences and support young people in navigating them.

Together, they covered:

• What these online communities looked like and why they appealed to boys and young men
• How extreme content spread through social media, gaming, and forums
• Signs that a young person might have been influenced by harmful messages
• How carers could open up non-judgemental conversations and build digital resilience

About our guest:
Professor Harriet Over is a professor of psychology at the University of York. Her research investigates the development of prejudice and discrimination in childhood. Her latest project, funded by the European Research Council, explored how online misogyny influences young people's behaviour and experiences.

About our host:
Dr Linda de Caestecker is a public health expert with over 30 years' experience, including as Director of Public Health for Greater Glasgow and Clyde. With a clinical background in obstetrics and gynaecology, she advises the Scottish Government on health policy and serves on the boards of Community Justice Scotland and Glasgow City Mission.

This episode formed part of Care Visions Family Talks – a one-hour online interview series profiling expert work in child development, followed by audience Q&A. These talks aim to share valuable insights from professionals with foster carers, parents, and anyone raising young people.

Recorded live at The Grange Manor in Grangemouth, this powerful panel discussion explored how exploitation is evolving in today’s digital world. Whether you work with young people, are raising children through uncertain times, or simply want to deepen your understanding, this conversation offered vital insight.

Exploitation in 2025 isn’t always visible. It can occur through a screen, behind closed doors, or in plain sight. From exposure to pornography and online grooming, to coercion via social media and peer pressure, young people are facing risks previous generations could hardly imagine.

Hosted by public health expert Dr Linda de Caestecker, the panel featured:

• Professor Alexis Jay, renowned child protection expert and former Chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
• Lyndsay McDade, Fearless Lead at Crimestoppers, who has spearheaded national campaigns including work on sextortion awareness

Together, they unpacked the current landscape of online exploitation, how it manifests, and what practical steps we can take to better support and protect the young people in our lives.

What we covered:

• How online platforms can be used for grooming, coercion, and exploitation
• The risks young people face around what they learn online about sex and relationships
• The importance of early intervention, open dialogue, and spotting warning signs
• How parents, carers, educators, and professionals can respond with clarity and compassion

This episode is part of Care Visions’ commitment to raising awareness and empowering communities to take action.

In this thoughtful and reflective conversation, author and broadcaster Humphrey Hawksley spoke with John Whitwell about his remarkable career in child care and therapeutic practice.

John began his work at the pioneering Cotswold Community, becoming its Principal in 1985. During his time there, he worked alongside influential figures such as Richard Balbernie, Barbara Dockar-Drysdale, and Isabel Menzies Lyth, helping to shape therapeutic residential care for children. He later became Managing Director of the UK’s first independent fostering agency, Integrated Services Programme, where he developed therapeutic approaches within family settings.

A qualified Group Psychotherapist, John has also contributed as a trustee for Gloucester Counselling Service, the Planned Environment Trust, and the Mulberry Bush Organisation.

This episode explored:

• The core principles of therapeutic care
• The role of psychodynamic theory in both residential and foster care
• The healing power of relationships and how to realise their therapeutic potential
• The importance of creating community to support recovery and development

Listeners were also invited to reflect on John's deep experience and personal journey, offering valuable insights into how children’s wellbeing and recovery from trauma can be supported across different care contexts.

Who was this for?
This episode was designed for anyone interested in children’s emotional development and recovery from trauma. It was particularly relevant to professionals working in residential child care, foster care, social work, education, therapy, and counselling.

About our host: Humphrey Hawksley
An acclaimed author, foreign correspondent, and commentator, Humphrey Hawksley has reported from across the globe for the BBC, covering major trends, conflicts, and social issues. His documentaries have examined human rights in global trade, development failures, the nuclear industry, and democracy across cultures. He is also the author of the Future History series and several international thrillers, and has written for major newspapers and lectured at top universities.

Separation and divorce often felt like an emotional whirlwind, not just for parents but for children too. As parents, we tried to shield our children from hurt while helping them make sense of the changes unfolding around them. It was a delicate balance that could easily feel overwhelming.

In this episode of Care Visions Family Talk,  Linda de Caestecker spoke with Sue Atkins, a parenting coach, broadcaster and best-selling author, to explore how we could support children through the challenges of separation and divorce.

With over 35 years of experience as a parenting coach and Deputy Headteacher, Sue had been a guiding light for countless families navigating tough times. Many recognised her from ITV’s This Morning, Good Morning Britain or BBC Radio, where she shared heartfelt, practical advice to help parents support their children in building resilience and finding stability during periods of change.

Sue was also the creator of the award-winning Divorce Journal for Kids, a thoughtful resource designed to help children process their feelings around divorce. She had written several books, including Parenting Made Easy – How to Raise Happy Children, offering compassionate guidance to parents on starting difficult conversations and creating a nurturing environment.

Whether you had experienced separation yourself or wanted to support someone who had, this conversation offered warmth and practical advice to help families move forward together. Tune in to listen, connect and support one another.

More information on Sue and her extensive work was available via her website: Sue Atkins The Parenting Coach

Podcast Episode: What We Fear Most – A Conversation on Trauma, Psychiatry, and the Human Condition

In this powerful live-recorded conversation, broadcaster and author Humphrey Hawksley spoke with Dr Humphrey Needham-Bennett, forensic psychiatrist and author of the critically acclaimed book What We Fear Most (written under the pen name Ben Cave). Together, they explored the human condition through the lens of someone who has worked closely with individuals often seen as beyond society’s understanding.

The discussion offered a moving, compelling, and at times challenging insight into the world of forensic psychiatry, shaped by Dr Needham-Bennett’s decades of experience in prisons and secure hospitals.

Listeners heard reflections on:

• The impact of childhood trauma across the life course
• The relationship between drug use and pathways to offending
• What to expect from mental health services, psychiatry, and psychology
• Complex mental health disorders and co-morbidities
• The vital role of teamwork in care
• Coping with adverse outcomes
• The effects of violence and stress on the health and social care workforce

This episode was designed for anyone interested in bringing greater humanity into human services and was particularly relevant to professionals in social work, healthcare, social care, criminal justice, and community support.

About our guest: Dr Humphrey Needham-Bennett
A Consultant General and Forensic Psychiatrist, Dr Needham-Bennett manages Needhams Medical LLP, providing medico-legal reports and conducting Serious Incident Reviews. With over thirty years of experience in the NHS, private practice, and secure settings, he has worked extensively with some of the most complex and vulnerable individuals in society.

About our host: Humphrey Hawksley
An acclaimed author, foreign correspondent, and commentator, Humphrey Hawksley has reported globally for the BBC, covering major events, conflicts, and social issues. His work spans documentaries on human rights, global trade, nuclear power, and democracy, as well as the Future History book series and several international thrillers.

In this insightful episode of Family Talk, Independent Chartered Psychologist Edwina Grant sat down with Dr Linda de Caestecker, Public Health Doctor, and David King, Supervising Social Worker and PACE trainer, to explore how the PACE model—Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy—can transform relationships with children who have experienced stress or trauma.

Designed for parents and caregivers, this online event offered a compassionate, trauma-informed approach to nurturing emotional regulation, trust, and healing.

Children who face emotional challenges often carry feelings of shame and mistrust, which can shape their behaviours and relationships. PACE provides a brain-based, relational framework that supports safe and secure connections while fostering understanding and resilience.

In this session, listeners learned how to:

• Use the four elements of PACE to strengthen bonds with their child
• Support emotional co-regulation and reflective behaviour
• Recognise and address the impact of shame and emotional overwhelm
• Create a nurturing environment where healing and growth are possible

By focusing on the child’s internal experience rather than just outward behaviours, PACE helps to reduce conflict, build trust, and promote lasting connection.

About our guest:

Edwina Grant is an Independent Chartered Psychologist with over 30 years of experience working with children and families across residential, therapeutic, and local authority settings. She currently provides assessments, training, consultancy, and therapeutic support through both statutory and voluntary organisations. Edwina is also a Trustee of Scottish Attachment in Action (www.scottishattachmentinaction.org), a charity dedicated to promoting secure attachment across Scotland and influencing positive change in social policy, education, and mental health.

Iain McGilchrist, a leading psychiatrist and global thinker, brought a vast body of work and deep insight into how we think, why we think, who we are, and how we understand our place in the world. In his latest book The Matter with Things: Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World, Iain posed urgent and unsettling questions. What was the world? How could we understand concepts such as consciousness, matter, space and time? Was the cosmos without purpose or value? And could we really afford to neglect the sacred and the divine?

Iain’s perspective challenged conventional thinking. He explored how different sides of the brain worked together to shape our emotions, our character and our sense of self. He was committed to the idea that the mind and brain could only be truly understood in the broadest context: not only our physical and spiritual existence, but also the wider human culture that shaped, and was shaped by, our brains and minds.

About Iain McGilchrist
A former Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, Iain was also an Associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He served as Consultant Emeritus at the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospital in London and held a research fellowship in neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore. He also became a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Stellenbosch.
Iain lived on the Isle of Skye, off the coast of north-west Scotland, where he continued to write and lecture worldwide. His work had appeared in most major media outlets, and he had taken part in numerous radio and television programmes and documentaries, including the BBC’s The Moral Maze, Start the Week and Today.

About Humphrey Hawksley
Humphrey Hawksley, an award-winning author and journalist, hosted the weekly Goldster Magazine Show, where he interviewed prominent figures from the worlds of health, culture, travel and adventure. A long-serving BBC foreign correspondent, Humphrey reported on global crises with a particular focus on Asia, where he opened the BBC’s first television bureau in Beijing.
He also hosted the monthly Democracy Forum Debates, created the Rake Ozenna political thriller series, and authored Asian Waters: The Struggle over the Indo-Pacific and the Challenge to American Power. He lectured at institutions such as the RAND Corporation, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, and MENSA Cambridge.

Questions that drove the conversation included:

• Was the world essentially inert and mechanical, just a collection of things to be used?
• Were we ourselves simply the playthings of chance, caught in a struggle of all against all?
• Why were we engaged in destroying everything of value to us?

This live online event offered a rare opportunity to hear Iain McGilchrist and Humphrey Hawksley delve into these fundamental questions in a rich and thought-provoking dialogue.

Therapeutic Care Beyond the Therapy Room: Everyday Moments That Heal

In this Family Talk conversation, Dr Linda de Caestecker speaks with Ruth Emond, senior lecturer at the University of Stirling, social worker and play therapist.

Ruth shares how everyday experiences — from routines and friendships to food and shared meals — can play a vital role in the recovery and development of children looked after away from home. She draws on her research, her co-authored book A Guide to Therapeutic Child Care, and her direct work with children through Family Change to show why small, ordinary interactions often matter as much as formal therapy.

This episode offers fresh insight and practical ideas for foster carers, kinship carers, parents, and professionals supporting children who have experienced adversity.

Care Visions Family Talk | Raising Steady Kids in an Unsteady World

How do we raise steady kids in an unsteady world?

In this Family Talk conversation, Dr Linda de Caestecker is joined by George Hosking OBE, founder of the WAVE Trust and leading expert on childhood trauma, alongside Danny Henderson, Service Manager at Care Visions Residential.

Together, they explore how the last few years have shaped the way young people connect, behave and cope — and what families can do to respond with confidence and clarity.

We discuss:

• How digital life is reshaping identity, attention and attachment
• The emotional toll on parents and carers — and how to respond without burning out
• What trauma-aware, future-focused support looks like in practice
• Grounded ways to build calm, trust and connection — even on the toughest days

About our guests

• George Hosking OBE is the founder of WAVE Trust, a former senior business leader turned psychologist and criminologist, whose pioneering work has influenced UK government policy and transformed approaches to childhood trauma and violence prevention.
• Danny Henderson is Service Manager at Care Visions Residential with decades of experience supporting young people in care, leading teams, and shaping best practice across the sector.

About the host
Dr Linda de Caestecker is a public health expert and former Director of Public Health for Greater Glasgow and Clyde. She has over 30 years’ experience in health, justice and social care, and brings warmth and clarity to conversations with leading voices on family and child wellbeing.

In this powerful and open conversation hosted by Care Visions Family Talk, Dr Linda de Caestecker spoke with Lyndsay McDade, Fearless Lead at Crimestoppers Scotland, about the growing threat of sextortion — a form of online blackmail increasingly targeting young people. Together, they tackled the fear, shame, and silence surrounding this issue, with the goal of equipping parents and carers to better protect the young people in their lives.

Lyndsay brought over 20 years of experience in the third sector and a deep commitment to youth-led work to the discussion. Since launching Crimestoppers' youth service Fearless in Scotland in 2016, she has championed lived experience and meaningful youth co-production. Over the past year, she led the development of a nationwide campaign on sextortion, which reached millions across youth-focused platforms and provided dedicated resources for both young people and the adults who support them.

This session explored:

• How sextortion typically happens and how online predators manipulate trust
• Warning signs to look out for
• Ways to open up honest, preventative conversations
• Tips for helping teens stay safer online

Listeners came away with a greater understanding of how to respond to this threat with confidence and compassion, as well as insight into a vital campaign making a real impact across Scotland.