Can mindfulness/meditation help people who stammer?
In recent years, an increasingly impressive body of evidence has emerged indicating that mindfulness-based therapies are helpful for a number of anxiety and stress-related disorders. This has prompted interest, in the stammering world, in the possibility that mindfulness training may help people who stammer to gain better control of their symptoms.
Although the benefits of mindfulness practice for people who stammer have yet to be systematically researched, the personal accounts of stammerers strongly suggest that it can indeed help them in a number of ways. We therefore wholeheartedly encourage people who stammer to learn to meditate and to establish a practice of mindfulness, both alongside speech therapy and also as a ongoing activity.
The nature of mindfulness practice is such that, in order to really benefit from it, people need substantial guidance and support, especially when first starting off. In our opinion, by far the best approach is to read as much about it as possible and also to find a meditation or mindfulness group near where you live, that has an approach you feel comfortable with, and to sit with that group on a regular basis.
If you’re interested in finding out more about mindfulness in relation to stammering, you can start by listening to this introductory slideshow on what it involves and how it can help with stammering.
More details can be found in this article by Paul Brocklehurst…
“Mindfulness and Stuttering: How can mindfulness help?
Live online Mindfulness Sessions
Since March 2020 we have been holding daily online silent meditations for People who stutter.
Each meditation session lasts for 30 minutes.
Currently they take place on Skype at 7am and 8.30pm (UK time)
Participation is completely free of charge.
If you would like to join in, please contact Paul@stammeringresearch.org for further details.
StutterTalk discussion on Mindfulness
click below to listen to a StutterTalk discussion on Mindfulness, with Dr Tom Weidig and Paul Brocklehurst, recorded at the 2015 IFA conference in Lisbon, Portugal.
https://stuttertalk.com/stuttering-meditation-and-mindfulness-from-the-ifa-in-portugal-ep-528/
End of Module
The Perfect Stutter
by Dr. Paul H Brocklehurst (founder of the SSEP)
In this book, Paul discusses his own experiences of stammering and how they affected his life. He then goes on to explore what is currently known about the condition, and he describes in detail recent findings of research into the relationship between speech-errors and stammering — including the research behind the development of the techniques used in the SSEP online course.
From the Preface
The journey really began in my early teens, following a number of experiences of the stutter going into remission. Although I relapsed and my symptoms returned, those early experiences impressed upon me the extent to which changes in my beliefs about stuttering appeared to have the capacity to bring about corresponding changes in the stutter itself. As I became aware of this, I started to wonder whether it may be possible to arrive at an understanding of stuttering that would permanently reduce its severity and perhaps even stop it from arising at all.
This book describes my search for that understanding.
I have divided the book into two parts: The first part – which is largely autobiographical – covers my life between the age of fourteen and forty-two. It describes the period during which, despite my efforts, the stutter remained partially out of control, and although its symptoms became substantially less severe, I was nevertheless still afraid of it. This first part ends with a description of how my understanding suddenly changed, and the fear finally relented.
In the second part of the book, I describe how my life changed after the fear had gone. In particular, I focus on my experience of returning to university – first to study speech therapy and then to research stuttering, and I discuss how this study and research deepened my understanding of the disorder and helped me to further consolidate my recovery.
I hope The Perfect Stutter will prove both useful and entertaining to anyone whose life is in some way affected by stuttering, including not only stutterers themselves but also researchers and therapists – and, indeed, anyone who is interested in the wider relationship between the ways we perceive and our ability to communicate.
‘The Perfect Stutter’ is currently available in paperback and e-book formats
