The integration of the personal self and professional self continues to be an amazing journey.    I have several friends who stutter who are also social workers and psychotherapists.  As I have grown both personally and professionally I have increased interest in providing counseling to people who stutter and their families. My friends have as well.  As I integrate all parts of myself while bringing friends and family along for the journey I expand my capacity to serve others.

I have also enjoyed integrating with speech language pathologists to treat all aspects of the person who stutters.  Kim Krieger, Director of Successful Stuttering Management Program has been incredibly open to providing comprehensive services to the stutterers who attend the program, as well as educating the student clinicians.

This past summer, I had the pleasure of creating a first draft manual, Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavior Therapy for people who stutter.  Here are a few sections of the manual:

Positive Affirmations – Exploring How Self Talk impacts Self Esteem

Perception vs. Reality worksheets – Understanding how assumptions or predictions of a future speaking situation can negatively influence the outcome, or that the reality is so much different then what is predicted

Grounding – Skills to manage anxiety and worries

Mindfulness – Learning to be in the present moment, instead of ruminating about the past or future.

I look forward to continued integration with social workers, speech language pathologists, and medical PR actioners, to provide comprehensive treatment to and people who stutter and their families.

Nora O’Connor

Friday, October 9, 2015