Laverne Antrobus
Encyclopedia
Laverne Antrobus is a British psychologist, author, and television presenter.
She was born in Reading, Berkshire
, to Harold and Yvonne Antrobus, who moved to England from St.Vincent, West Indies in 1964. She works for the Tavistock Clinic
in London as a consultant child and educational psychologist
.
In Who Needs Dads, a BBC Four
documentary shown in June 2010, Laverne explored the psychological impact of a father figure on a family and the "extraordinary hidden biological changes" that occur in fathers and their children".
Laverne presented the BBC
television series "War In The Womb", In the series she investigates the theory of foetal-maternal conflict, an idea championed by Harvard evolutionary biologist Professor David Haig (biologist)
and controversially believed by some to be to blame for a wide range of behavioural and psychological disorders such as Tourettes, depression
and autism
. She was also a child therapist on the BBC television series Little Angels
, Teen Angels and The All New House of Tiny Tearaways
. Laverne was included on the Power List 2010 and 2011 (Britain's 100 most influential black people) she was said to be influential because .... "she quite literally changes the lives of so many people she works with and does so on a grand scale"
in London. They have three children. Laverne is a season ticket holder and fan of Arsenal Football Club. She is involved with several charities including Shelter
. She is also a committee member of Siya Philaphula. Siya Philaphula was launched in 2001 to provide training in therapeutic communication with children and to assist and support workers engaged in community work with disadvantaged black children and their families in South Africa. Siya Phulaphula work with the Child Headed Families Project which cares for 156 families, comprising 300 children ,who have been orphaned as a result of the HIV Aids pandemic and who have no kinship support.
She was born in Reading, Berkshire
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, to Harold and Yvonne Antrobus, who moved to England from St.Vincent, West Indies in 1964. She works for the Tavistock Clinic
Tavistock Clinic
The in London was founded in 1920 by Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller, a psychiatrist who developed psychological treatments for shell-shocked soldiers during and after the First World War. The clinic's first patient was, however, a child. Its clinical services were always, therefore, for both children...
in London as a consultant child and educational psychologist
Educational psychologist
An educational psychologist is a psychologist with a Master’s degree in Educational psychology An educational psychologist (many countries use this term to signify those who provide services to students, their teachers, and families while other countries use this term to signify academic training...
.
Media roles
Laverne Antrobus presented BBC's "Carrot or Stick" (2011) which looked at Horizon (BBC TV series) archives to find out how science has shaped our approach to parenting and education over the last fifty years. From lessons in motherly love to tough discipline to bribery tactics, she asks what's the best approach when it comes to bringing up children.In Who Needs Dads, a BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
documentary shown in June 2010, Laverne explored the psychological impact of a father figure on a family and the "extraordinary hidden biological changes" that occur in fathers and their children".
Laverne presented the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series "War In The Womb", In the series she investigates the theory of foetal-maternal conflict, an idea championed by Harvard evolutionary biologist Professor David Haig (biologist)
David Haig (biologist)
David Haig, is an Australian evolutionary biologist and geneticist, professor in Harvard Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. He is interested in intragenomic conflict, genomic imprinting and parent-offspring conflict, and wrote the book Genomic Imprinting and Kinship...
and controversially believed by some to be to blame for a wide range of behavioural and psychological disorders such as Tourettes, depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
and autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
. She was also a child therapist on the BBC television series Little Angels
Little Angels (TV series)
Little Angels is a Bafta-nominated British reality television show which ran for three series on BBC Three .The series, in the docu-soap genre, aimed to show parents how to overcome common behavioural problems in their children, using a team of experts who observed and gave advice...
, Teen Angels and The All New House of Tiny Tearaways
The House of Tiny Tearaways
The House of Tiny Tearaways is a BBC Three reality TV show hosted by Dr Tanya Byron and Claudia Winkleman and produced by .The show brings three families experiencing problems into a large, purpose-built house where they are monitored and helped for a week...
. Laverne was included on the Power List 2010 and 2011 (Britain's 100 most influential black people) she was said to be influential because .... "she quite literally changes the lives of so many people she works with and does so on a grand scale"
Publications
- Antrobus, Laverne: Aint Misbehaving, ISBN 9780273712664 (0273712667)
- Antrobus Laverne: Being A Parent In The Real World, http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/parentknowhow/downloads/BeingParentinRealWorldbkt.pdf
Personal life
Laverne lives with her partner, photographer Andy BarterAndy Barter
Andy Barter is a world-renowned photographer living and working in London where he lives with his partner Psychologist, and Television Presenter Laverne Antrobus and their three children.He was born in Bowerchalke England in 1967...
in London. They have three children. Laverne is a season ticket holder and fan of Arsenal Football Club. She is involved with several charities including Shelter
Shelter (charity)
Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...
. She is also a committee member of Siya Philaphula. Siya Philaphula was launched in 2001 to provide training in therapeutic communication with children and to assist and support workers engaged in community work with disadvantaged black children and their families in South Africa. Siya Phulaphula work with the Child Headed Families Project which cares for 156 families, comprising 300 children ,who have been orphaned as a result of the HIV Aids pandemic and who have no kinship support.