Speech Disorder

A speech disorder often involves Stuttering (or stammering) in which the flow of speech is broken by repetitions (li-li-like this), prolongations (lllllike this), or abnormal stoppages (no sound) of sounds and syllables.

There may also be unusual facial and body movements associated with the effort to speak.

Interestingly, sufferers may not stutter or stammer at all when they cannot hear their own voice, for example when using headphones & listening to music on an i-pod and then speaking to somebody nearby.

This strongly suggests that the “self-evaluated feed-back” of hearing their own speech disorder plays a role in the event itself.

What Can Cause a Speech Disorder?

There are a number of factors that have been cited to contribute to the development of a speech disorder, although positively identifying any particular cause does not necessarily mean an easy solution:

Genetics – approximately 60% of those who stutter have a family member who does also.

Childhood development – children with other speech and language problems or developmental delays are more likely to stutter.

Neurophysiology – recent neurological research has shown that some people who stutter process speech and language slightly differently than those who do not stutter.

Family dynamics – high expectations and fast-paced lifestyles may contribute to stuttering.

Environmental social factors – growing up with stressed and angry parents – parents shouting at their children.

Speech Disorders may occur when a combination of factors come together and may have different causes in different people.

It is probable that what causes a speech disorder differs from what makes it continue or get worse.

Is A Speech Disorder Caused by Emotional or Psychological Problems?

Children and adults who develop a speech disorder are no more likely to have psychological or emotional problems than children and adults who do not.

Often a person suffering a speech disorder has placed themselves under so much “internal pressure” that the problem could almost be described as “Anticipatory Anxiety”, a process we examine and discuss at length in our Tranceformental CBT course.

Speech disorders such as stammering are often the result of Social Anxiety Disorder and almost certainly exacerbated by a sense of being judged or feeling “on the spot”.

Psychological Therapy for Speech Disorders

If you’re committed to overcoming your Speech Disorder then we highly recommend following our Advanced Tranceformental CBT programme with Paul which is available as an Online Therapy as well as a self-directed programme.

The Tranceformental programme is a highly successful & pragmatic mental health counselling course, run over 10 sessions, that will teach you everything you need to know to understand your problem, identify how unhelpful thinking and limiting beliefs might be reinforcing the issue, and then show you how to make any changes to your unhelpful thinking styles or maladaptive safety behaviours that you may have developed as part of your coping strategies.

Our Tranceformental CBT programme is an evidence-based, research supported approach used by mental health practitioners around the World.

Alternative Therapy Options for Speech Disorders

Although our preferred form of mental health counselling for Speech Disorders is Tranceformental CBT we also offer alternative psychotherapies for those who might prefer a different approach.

These include:

• Psychodynamic therapy which focuses more on emotional problems and relies on the Therapeutic Relationship to bring about change. Available with Paul.
• General Counselling which is less structured but still provides a safe and non-judgmental environment to discuss issues which is therapeutic in its own right.
• Hypnotherapy is an alternative form of therapy that can be applied to a very wide range of problems and is available with Joan.

Free Initial Consultations for Speech Disorders

We offer all prospective clients an initial consultation to discuss your Speech Disorders prior to commencing any treatment plans.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various options that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available as part of our online therapy service.

At TranceForm Psychology we recognise the importance of the therapeutic relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so its important to be able to ‘meet’ to discuss our change programmes BEFORE proceeding.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.