My Story Into Working With PWS |
If
you can speak fluently in just one context,
you can learn to speak fluently in all contexts.
I did not plan to work with who
block and stutter. Indeed, it happened quite by accident. I have been working in
Neuro-Linguistic Programmer (NLP) since 1991. In
1996 my colleague, L. Michael Hall, Ph.D., and I started developing a model
called Neuro-Semantics
(NS). Our work in this model came out of our experience in NLP and is an
advancement of that model. As an NLP/NS practitioner, I have worked with
hundreds of clients covering approximately three thousand hours of therapy.
Working with fears, anxiety and phobias have been a major component of my work.
Some years ago, a seminar practitioner asked me if I could help people who
stutter. I told him that I didn’t know but I sure would be glad to give it a
try. His son, a 25 or 26 year old came in for a two hour session. After one
hour’s work we discovered that behind his blocking and stuttering were some
fears of speaking that rooted in childhood. Once he realized that he was
mentally causing the stutter, he thanked me, paid me and left. Though we had two
hours scheduled, we finished in one hour. As far as I know, he gained complete
fluency. The key for him was his understanding that he was mentally causing the
stuttering and it wasn’t something physical and out of his control.
Excited about the results, I wrote up a case study of the therapy and sent it to
Michael. He utilized his expertise and expanded the case study into an article
entitled “Meta-Stating Stuttering”.
After posting the article, a friend of mind that I had worked with early in my
practice contacted me. He had a stutter that we worked on but it hadn’t helped
him. After reading the article he called me and asked me if I had learned some
new things. I told him that I sure had and for him to come on in. He came for a
one hour session. I saw him six months later and asked him how he was doing with
the stuttering. He paused briefly and replied, “I guess I have forgotten to
stutter.” “Well,” I said, “That sure is a great thing to forget to do.
Needless to say, I was quite elated with the outcome. Then, in the spring of
2002, the breakthrough came. Linda of Indiana e-mailed me. In her search
to overcome her stuttering, she had read a work by Anthony Robbins at the
recommendation of John Harrison. From Anthony Robbins she learned about NLP. She
searched Amazon.com for NLP books and found mind and Michael’s book,
The User’s Manual for the Brain. From that
work she obtained my email address and emailed me asking me if I could assist
her. In just a few therapy sessions on the phone and some emails, Linda gained
complete fluency. Wow, was I ever excited.
Linda and I wrote an article entitled “From
Stuttering to Stability: A Case Study.” John Harrison published the article
in the National Stuttering Association
newsletter, Letting Go
and I posted it on our web site at:
http://www.masteringstuttering.com/Articles/Stuttering-to-Stability.htm
This article really got a lot of attention. Since then I have worked with
several people who block and stutter. One of the people that I assisted to
fluency was Tim Mackesey,
SLP. Can you imagine the excitement I had in being able to assist a speech
pathologist who had blocked and stuttered most of his life to fluency? I was
elated.
Tim integrates NLP/NS
heavily into therapy with all appropriate clients. Tim’s office is near Atlanta Georgia.
His web site is:
http://www.stuttering-specialist.com.
Let me say up front, all have not attained fluency but many have. Importantly,
out of all the people I have worked with, I have total confidence that
ultimately all of them have the capacity to eventually attain fluency. This will
necessitate their continuing working on their thinking.
©2002 - 2006 Bobby G. Bodenhamer,
D. Min. All rights reserved.