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From: Ellen-Marie Silverman
Date: 10/8/03
Time: 2:39:11 PM
Remote Name: 172.141.158.233
Dear Ed,
Again, thank you for providing me with an opportunity to share some of what I have learned.
I could not agree with you more that the speech pathologist (and how I dislike that designation!) is not solely equiped through professional training, in most instances, to stand alone as the sole provider of instruction and motivation for the person wishing to change from being a person with a stuttering problem to being a person who just stutters from time to time. Most speech pathologists know this and make recommendations to their clients (I think consumers is actually a better designation) for other services that may help facilitate the desired change(s). Whether or not the speech pathologist should coordinate the consumer's experiences with other providers of helpful services is another matter, to my thinking, anyway.
I believe and have taught therapists for many years that our job is to help the client become his or her own therapist! (In fact, in a Guest Editorial I wrote, published in The ASHA Leader last month, I re-iterated that belief, adding that we are not successful unless we do that.) Why? Because doing so encourages a client/consumer to take responsibility and muster his or her own strengths, thereby becoming more involved and freer of limiting, dependency relationships with any provider of service, including speech therapists. Dependency relationships, obviously, are self-limiting, reducing one's belief in one's ability to stand on one's own feet, which is a key element of cure!
Please do not think I discount the "multi-disciplinary approach" to the treatment of stuttering problems. I do not because I know I, as therapist, am unlikely to be able to work successfully alone. Others, e.g., teachers, clergy, motivational speakers, etc., can provide an idea here, a suggestion there, that are germane and skillful and that together help construct plot a safe, effective route to freedom from the bondage of stuttering. I don't advocate the speech therapist serving as coordinator of a "team" because: 1) The consumer can do this himself/herself more efficiently from a time and cost basis and benefits immeasurably from doing so and 2) In many instances, it may not be necessary for the "team" members to communicate with one another (if we are talking about "team" from a medical model standpoint).
I fully believe, based on my experience and my study of transactional analysis theory and therapy, that a person who takes responsibility for changing their thinking and behavior is one who changes (By the way, if you want to see an exemplar transactional analysis therapist at work --- at least he looks like a transactional analysis therapist to me --- watch Dr. Phil or read one of his books, very TA). Being one's own team facilitator puts the you into the driver's seat, a very empowering place to be!
Ellen-Marie Silverman