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From: Pam
Date: 02 Oct 2009
Time: 23:45:46 -0500
Remote Name: 24.195.248.126
Thanks Nicole. I think grad students today are so lucky to have all this available to learn about the real complexities of stuttering. The professionals can learn from us, and vice versa. And I think that you grad students are the most important participants at this conference. You will be leading and shaping the future of the speech field, so the more realistic perspective you have, the better. . . . . . My initial anxiety about entering therapy was more so about dealing with feelings rather than actual speech issues. I had kept my emotions bottled up just as long as I tried to hide my stuttering. . . So the anxiety was due to realizing thatin order for this to have any meaning, I was going to have to own and feel feelings that I had always stuffed. That was scary, because I never liked showing emotions and vulnerability. So grad students should know to expect much more than a desire to work towards improved speech. The student clinician needs to work just as diligentely on counseling skills, buidling rapport and trust as on mechanical speech issues. It is important to try and reduce anxiety for both the clinican and the adult client. I think that is best done when the student clinician understands that this is more than just once weekly therapy. The decision to enter therapy as an adult is life changing. It must be respected and valued,and the grad student should try to build a safe and trusting relationship just as we would when building any new relationship in our lives. I guess being Real is the best way to boil this down. Many thanks to you for such thoughtful comments!