Can a Fluent Stuttering Therapist be as Good as a Stuttering Fluency Therapist?

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Interesting article...

From: Retz
Date: 03 Oct 2008
Time: 11:22:35 -0500
Remote Name: 76.229.214.9

Comments

Interesting article... I am trying to carefully craft my comments, my thoughts, my views! Most of the historically regarded professional master therapists have been people who stutter...Johnson, Van Riper, Williams, Sheehan, Cooper, etc. That being said, the best therapist I know of is a SLP who never stuttered. As well, there many therapists who stutter that are...well...er...um...ah... at the other end of the competence spectrum, shall I say. And then there are those therapists who don't stutter who are...well...ah...um...er...supremely misguided in their thinking as well. As I read your article, I could not help but believe that perhaps there is still hope for the professional field. The finally dawning - and shared - acknowledgement and realization in the professional ranks that success in therapy is 15% technique, 40% client & environment, 30% therapuetic relationship between client & clinician and 15% Hope and Expectancy holds great hope for those who stutter - especially children. The analogy of a therapist as coach, the overwhelmingly positive therapuetic technique of empathetic listening as a therapy tool by the clinician, the idea of one becoming their own therapist...all good...its all good...very, very good. Now, can we get the professionals who are responsible for training future professionals at the university level to realize and implement course work and training to deliver effective therapy? Does ASHA step up to the responsibility? And Joes --- regarding "techniques"... Just my 2 cents... It is my belief that if a therapist is a big believer in the necessity of the child/adult who stutters using "techniques" to have "success" in therapy, the therapist should demonstrate those techniques - unknowingly to the client - during their overall general interactions with the client (parents as well) and wait for the client to request learning how to "speak" using those therapist "necessitated" (?) tecniques. To do otherwise, I believe, is to impose a therapists will on a client. Again, just my view... I enjoyed your article. BTW...I am glad Joe D. finally completed his Ph.D . 'Bout time...Congrats...! I'm outta here...


Last changed: 10/03/08