Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for Stuttering Disorder: A case study

Abstract: This paper examines the benefits of using CBT-techniques as a therapeutic tool within the treatment of stuttering. Stuttering is a complex disorder that involves not only speech disfluencies but also psychological and interpersonal problems as a consequence of the interaction of thoughts, emotions and behaviour. This case study describes CBT carried out with a young woman with stuttering difficulties who experienced sustained improvement in psychological functioning as a result of the therapy. The therapy consisted of ten weekly sessions and five booster sessions. The therapist systematically used a number of different cognitive interventions together with her specific knowledge of stuttering in guiding the client. The client´s experiences of therapy outcome were obtained on three different occasions, and the last was obtained three and a half-year´s after the last session. The present paper argues that the field of stuttering treatment would benefit from combining the established methods and principles in speechlanguage pathology with the theoretical framework and methodology of CBT.