A speech and language therapist for adults or a stuttering course: which suits you?

What does a speech and language therapist do for adults who stutter?

A speech and language therapist is trained to work with speech, language and voice. You may also come across the title speech-language pathologist, or logopæd and logoped in Scandinavia. They all refer to the same kind of professional, so don't let it confuse you that some use one title and some another.

Therapy for an adult who stutters typically consists of conversations and exercises, one session at a time, over a longer period. You work on the speech itself and often on the thoughts and feelings around it as well. What it looks like depends on the therapist and on you.

Speech and language therapists work with much more than stuttering, for example voice problems and language difficulties. So always ask how much experience the individual therapist has with adults who stutter. It's a perfectly reasonable question, and a good therapist will be happy to answer it.

Speech and language therapy for adults: public service or private

Through the public service

What is publicly available depends on the country you live in, and it often differs from one area to the next. Ask your GP or your local speech and language therapy service what help there is for adults who stutter, what it costs and whether there is a waiting list. In Denmark, for example, adults can get free stuttering therapy through their municipality.

A private therapist

You contact a private speech and language therapist yourself. That gives you the freedom to choose someone with particular experience of stuttering, and to find times that fit into your life. You pay yourself, and prices vary. We've gathered the questions you should ask in the article on what help for stuttering costs.

Whether you see a therapist privately or through the public service, the chemistry matters a great deal. You'll be talking about something you may have hidden for many years. It's fine to change therapist if it isn't working.

What is an intensive stuttering course?

On an intensive course you work on your speech for many hours at a stretch over a few days, together with other people who stutter. The McGuire Programme is a course of that kind. It's for anyone aged 14 or over who stutters, and all the instructors stutter themselves and have taken the course.

The course lasts four days, from Thursday 08:00 to Sunday 14:00, and the days can be up to 16 hours long. You learn costal breathing, which is the foundation, and techniques such as Hit and Hold, Block release and deliberate dysfluency. You practise them in real situations: on the phone, in the street and in a public speech in the city.

After the course you get lifelong support and guidance and become part of a network. The daily practice afterwards is what keeps the new habits alive. You can read more about what a stuttering course is like.

The differences side by side

The two routes are built differently. Neither is the right one for everybody. Here are the most important differences:

• Pace: With a speech and language therapist you work a little at a time over a longer period. On an intensive course you do a great deal in a few days and keep practising on your own afterwards.
• Who teaches: A speech and language therapist has a professional qualification. At McGuire the instructors stutter themselves and have taken the course. Those are two different kinds of knowledge, and both have value.
• Alone or together: Therapy is often one to one. A course takes place in a group where everyone stutters.
• Where you practise: Ask the therapist whether you'll also practise outside the room. At McGuire the phone, the street and the public speech are a fixed part of the course.
• Afterwards: Always ask what happens when the therapy ends. At McGuire, lifelong support is part of the course.

Which suits you?

A speech and language therapist is a good fit if

• you'd like to work quietly, one to one, at your own pace
• you don't feel like standing in a group yet
• you want a professional to look at your speech as a whole
• you can't set aside four whole days

An intensive course is a good fit if

• you want to learn from people who stutter themselves
• you avoid a lot of situations and want to practise them with a group behind you
• you're ready for four hard days and for practising every day afterwards
• you miss knowing other people who stutter

An intensive course is less of a fit if you're looking for a quick fix without practice. Neither route removes the stutter. They give you tools, and you're the one who has to use them.

You don't have to choose only one route

Many people combine the two. Some see a speech and language therapist first and take a course later. Others do it the other way round and use a therapist to keep the work going afterwards. We don't see speech and language therapists as competitors. They're welcome to follow a McGuire course free of charge as observers, so they can see for themselves how we work.

If you'd like the big picture first, read our guide to stuttering in adults. And if you want to see when you could join, you'll find the upcoming courses in Aarhus, Malmö and Oslo on the front page.

Questions to ask before you choose

The same questions work whether you're talking to a public service, a private therapist or us:

• How much experience do you have with adults who stutter?
• What does the process look like, and how long does it last?
• Do we practise in real situations or only in the room?
• What do I need to do myself between sessions and afterwards?
• What happens when it's over?
• What does it cost in total?

Notice how you feel during the conversation. If you feel understood and get clear answers, that's a good sign.

Frequently asked questions