About the contributors:
 Elizabeth Kapstein has been an active organizer in the stuttering self-help community since the early 90s when she co founded Passing Twice, a network of GLTB persons who stutter and their friends, and the Manhattan Stuttering Group, NYC’s first self-help stuttering community. She is currently a psychotherapist (LCSW, CASAC) in New York City. |
 Nora A. O’Connor is a licensed clinical social worker and a person who stutters living in Los Angeles, California. Nora has been involved locally and nationally with stuttering self help organizations for over 15 years. She is featured in two stuttering documentaries, Spit It Out (2004) and Right Here, Right Now (PBS, 2000). She is an adviser to StutterTalk and author of the chapter Substance Abuse and Stuttering in the book Stuttering: Inspiring Stories and Professional Wisdom. Nora is a graduate of the Successful Stuttering Management Program (SSMP) at Eastern Washington University, and has returned to the SSMP frequently to provide her experience and expertise. Nora facilitates counseling groups, in her private practice, for kids, teens and adults who stutter. She is committed to treating the emotional response to stuttering. Nora earned her Master’s in Social Work from San Francisco State University. She holds additional training in addiction studies, trauma interventions, motivational engagement and walk & talk therapy. You can learn more about her practice at www.center4betterliving.com |
 Jeff Shames: I have been a part of the self-help world of people who stutter for nearly 25 years; first with the National Stuttering Project and Speak Easy in New Jersey. I met Elizabeth Kapstein in 1994, and we co-founded the Manhattan Stuttering Group. I have attended numerous conferences of the NSP/NSA and Friends.
In 1995 I began production on the documentary, “Spit It Out.” The process of making the film gave me new perspectives about stuttering and other parts of my life. “Spit It Out” was completed in 2004. I had begun working in the nonprofit world. In those years Michael Sugarman, Elizabeth Mendez and other social workers who stutter helped me find my way. I later went back to school and received my MSW from NYU in 2007. I work as a psychotherapist in New York City, where I live with my wife, Elisa DeCarlo. |
 Michael Sugarman. Honored by American Speech and Hearing Association, International Fluency Association, National Stuttering Association, International Stuttering Association and Stutterers Hall of Fame. Wrote “Peer Counseling and Self Help Group Facilitation for People who Stutter” and “Self Help Workbook for People who Stutter” and various articles on how people change and peer activities. |
 Nina G: By night Nina G is a comedian performing at comedy clubs, keynote speaker and children’s author of Once Upon an Accommodation: A Book About Learning Disabilities. By day she is a counselor at a community college where she works with students with disabilities. In 2015 she premiered her one person show,Going Beyond Inspirational, and produced the first ever comedy compilation album of all comedians with disability aptly titled Disabled Comedy Only. Be on the look out for the release of her Tedx video, Be an Every Day Ally. Learn more about Nina G at www.NinaGcomedian.com. |
Dr. Gina Davis is a clinical psychologist who stutters. She has a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. |
This forum provides an interactive, open conversation with a collective of Mental Health Professionals coming together to discuss ways to think about the role of mental health therapy and practitioners in the stuttering community. The focus will be on how we understand and improve our connections with ourselves, partners, family, siblings, parents, friends, work colleagues, and/or children.
We will focus on;
- Understanding yourself, others, and community through the lens of mental health
- How you work with your partners/members who do/do not stutter
- Communicate better and strengthen your closeness and connection
Themes will be used in this forum throughout the conference. Each day we will start a discussion topic, linked below. Please tell us your thoughts, experiences and questions.
