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From: Kevin O'Neill
Date: 10 Oct 2012
Time: 15:49:18 -0500
Remote Name: 24.18.229.12
(Part II) As a therapist I'd ask the client "what scares you" and work on those things. Intentional stuttering is great because it gets it out in the open. I also like practicing "gentle pauses" to understand what it *feels* like to leave an open space in conversation, and not get stressed about that. You can practice deep breathing all day but if you rush ahead because you hate how it feels when you might stutter, the techniques don't matter. Does that make sense? You can work on emotions and confidence with speech itself, without having to probe deeply into personal matters. And pay attention to any and all forms of avoidance -- if stuttering is like weeds, avoidance is like the root system that supports it. Once you kills the root system it's pretty easy to clean up the weeds.