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From: Ed Feuer
Date: 10/9/02
Time: 12:11:00 PM
Remote Name: 142.161.128.92
The problem of the fragmented self is one that is all too easy for practioners to miss in the controlled environment of the clinic room.
Not that it's unknown — Van Riper described the situation very well. It may very well be the toughest problem in stuttering therapy, and the main cause of the supposed "resistance and sabotage" in the terminology of the SLPs. And those who favour the mechanistic approaches simply choose to ignore the difficulties posed by the fragmented self.
Less communicative stress brings less or even no stuttering and resulting Self-Image A. More communicative stress brings more stuttering and adverse consequences — a situation that creates Self-Image B. But the person who stutters desperately prefers Self-Image A. That results in denial, avoidance of feared words and difficult situations, and maladaptive struggle.
The fragmented self must be healed and that is where genuine and thorough systematic desensitization, healing and strengthening come in. But, as I've noted in another ISAD response, these are elements usually sadly lacking in current stuttering therapies.