Psychological counseling as an adjunct to stuttering treatment: Clients' experiences and perceptions

- Qualitative methods were used to explore reasons why clients who stutter accessed, or did not access, psychological counseling as part of their treatment program.
- The following novel facilitators to access were discussed: having a 'why not' attitude, and having a pre-existing relationship with clinician who offered the service.
- The following novel barriers to access were discussed: perceiving counseling as a limited resource, and the already overwhelming nature of stuttering treatment programs.
- All participants felt that the opportunity to access a counseling service that is delivered by a trained mental health professional would be an important component of a stuttering treatment program.
- Participants made recommendations for enhanced promotion and delivery of a counseling service, and further discussed the barriers to implementing these recommendations.

PurposeStuttering can trigger anxiety and other psychological and emotional reactions, and limit participation in society. It is possible that psychological counseling could enhance stuttering treatment outcomes; however, little is known about how clients view such counseling. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of clients' experiences with, and perceptions of, a psychological counseling service that was offered as an optional adjunct to speech therapy for stuttering.MethodNine individuals who stutter (13-38 years old) participated in semi-structured interviews. Six participants had taken part in psychological counseling; three participants did not do so. Interview data were analyzed using grounded theory as a guiding framework.ResultsFour thematic clusters emerged from participants' accounts: insights into personal decision-making, why others may not participate in counseling, psychological counseling as a worthwhile part of therapy, and counseling as a necessary component in a stuttering treatment program.ConclusionIn addition to experiencing barriers and facilitators to help-seeking that are reported in related fields, participants accounts also revealed novel facilitators (i.e., a 'why not' mentality and the importance of having a pre-existing relationship with the clinician who offered the service) and barriers (i.e., viewing the service as a 'limited resource,' and, the overwhelming nature of intensive stuttering treatment programs). Findings suggest that clients value the option to access psychological counseling with trained mental health professionals to support the stuttering treatment provided by speech-language pathologists. Participants made recommendations for the integration of psychological counseling into stuttering treatment programs.