Speech and Language Therapy
This may be the first time that you have considered talking to someone about your stammer and sharing how it impacts on your day to day life. By adulthood, people who stammer have often developed negative thoughts and feelings about their speech and will be avoiding saying certain words or some speaking situations because of it.
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You may be exploring speech and language therapy at this time as your stammering may be impacting on your social life or getting in the way at work. You may be contributing less than you want or keeping your thoughts and ideas to yourself because of your fear of stammering. You may have successfully concealed your stammer from others in the past, however this is now becoming harder to maintain. You may be finding it a physical struggle to get your words out. Or your concern is that others keep telling you that you speak too quickly and they find it difficult to understand what you are saying.
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Whatever your reason, working with a speech and language therapist can help.
Initial Session
My aim is to provide clients with a calm, safe environment, where it is ok to stammer, you feel comfortable to share your thoughts and feelings about your stammering, and you are given the time you need to say what you want to say.
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During your initial session, I will ask you about your stammering. This will include questions about its current presentation, how it has developed over time, any previous speech and language therapy you have attended and its effectiveness, as well as your feelings towards your stammering and the impact it is currently having on your day to day life. I will also establish what you want to gain from attending speech and language therapy.
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​Following this initial session, I will give you feedback which will enable you to understand the factors that are relevant to your stammering. We can then agree upon the next steps in terms of support, tailored to fit with what concerns you the most and the goals that you wish to achieve.
Next Steps
My approach is client centred which means the nature and extent of my involvement with each client varies. Sessions may involve a combination of approaches from reducing the struggle associated with talking and learning how to speak more easily, working on your feelings and attitudes towards your stammer, reducing any avoidance behaviours, working on acceptance and openness and developing your confidence to communicate.
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​It is important that sessions are aimed at addressing both the psychological aspects of stammering as well as the stammer itself, and gives you the life-long tools you need to be a confident communicator and to say what you want.
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​Ongoing sessions can be face to face or online (e.g. via Zoom) and can be a one-off session or can be delivered on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis as needed. Sessions usually last 60 minutes.
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​Please contact me for information regarding fees.​