Talk to a Professional
Hello! Our names are Ashlynn, India, and Lauren. We are second-year students in the Communication Sciences and Disorders department at the University of South Carolina. After reading the article Stuttering – Learn More, Understand and Accept! Parents Have a Voice! by Katarzyna Wyęsierska, Monika Pakura, and Izabela Michta, which talks about self-help groups for children who stutter and their parents. One topic the groups addressed were children overcoming fear and limitations. We were wondering what is the best way for us to council our future clients and provide support that facilitates a decrease in fear and and tension.
Dear Ashlynn, India, and Lauren,
HI! Thanks for writing and asking questions. What university are y’all at? Congrats on being second years!
Counseling is an art form, and an essential part of being any therapist. It cuts across everything we do. Everything we do involves counseling skills that require daily practice.
The first thing we can practice is active and mindful listening skills. If you want more information, power points and tips, email me at spalasik@uakron.edu, and I can send you a bunch of information about active listening. Bottom line is there is more to listening than nodding our heads and saying, “ah ha.” We have to show clients and families we are engaged with what they are saying, and not saying.
Learn all you can about CBT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), REBT, Solution Focused Therapy and any other psychotherapy approaches so you can practice how to direct client’s challenging thoughts and emotions. Again, this is not enough room to teach everything about these approaches, so feel free to email me directly for more information.
Mindfulness has been a great topic in the past several years to learn for SLPs and pass on to clients. This practice helps clients be present and increase awareness of what they CHOOSE to do. Teaching clients about choices is vital to help them find their own success.
There is much MUCH more, but the above can get you started.
Keep asking questions!
With compassion and kindness,
Scott