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From: Melissa (a second year SLP grad student)
Date: 13 Oct 2011
Time: 13:15:28 -0500
Remote Name: 68.119.43.22
Tim, In many of my classes, I have been warned to not go outside of the SLP scope of practice. I basically took this to mean that if a client's needs went beyond speech, language, and communication that I was to quickly refer them to another professional. However, with stuttering, I see how you cannot separate the communication disorder from the feelings and thoughts about the communication disorder. And, it seems that in the case of stuttering that SLPs have no choice (if they want to help their clients) but to wear two hats: speech therapist and counselor. I know that you are trained in Neurolinguistic Programming, but for those of us who will just be SLPs, do you think there should be more training in cognitive behavioral therapy or similar programs so that we are better-prepared to reframe thoughts and attitudes that hinder progress? Or, do you think that it is unethical for us to address those issues without being licensed counselors? By reading your article, I am thinking that understanding cognitive processes in greater detail could make me a much more effective SLP. I appreciate your thoughts on this. Thank you, Melissa