Choosing Your Path: Speech Therapy vs. One-On-One Coaching

The Beneath Your Steader Podcast is where we dive deep below the surface of the iceberg into the inner experience of stuttering. I'm your host, Paige Smith, a stuttering relapse recovery coach, helping you get back to the level of fluency that makes you happy. Let's go beneath the surface of your stutter for deeper self-awareness, personal growth, and transformation. In this episode, we're exploring a critical decision that many individuals who stutter face, and that is choosing between traditional speech therapy and personalized one-to-one coaching. Join me as we navigate through the evolving landscape of stuttering treatment and support, exploring the nuances and benefits of each path. Let's uncover the complexities of this choice, and empower you to make an informed decision that lines with your unique needs and fluency goals. When I was younger, the only option I knew to get help for stuttering was through speech therapy and working with a speech-language pathologist. In the last few years, there's been an emergence of coaching for stuttering, representing a newer approach to supporting individuals who stutter. What might be seen as competition to SLPs and what may not be very well known is this. Coaching often supplements the work of speech-language pathologists. To be clear of the roles, SLPs diagnose and treat various kinds of communication disorders, including stuttering, focusing on teaching speech therapy tools and techniques. There are other individuals who call themselves a stuttering coach—someone who has come a long way on their stuttering journey—and in achieving a high level of fluency now help others. When I found myself growing into a much higher level of fluency than ever before, I felt the calling to turn around and extend a helping hand to those who were further behind me because like, "How could I not?" I grew up thinking that fluency was impossible, and now that I'm living the possible, the information I've gathered, the strategies I've learned, I believe are valuable and worth passing on. I only wish I knew someone like me existed 30 to 40 years ago. Maybe they did, but there wasn't the internet and social media as we know it today. Growing up, I always had the impression that fluency was like a rare bird, that you were lucky to ever have or see it in your lifetime. But in order to help others, I knew I needed more knowledge and skills than fluency and the lived experience of a person who stutters. So I engaged in a nine-month program to become a CPC, or a Certified Professional Coach, getting my certificate in April of 2021. It may sound like a fancy piece of paper, but what it really means is that I have a solid foundation of the coaching process. Being equipped with various methodologies, tools, and strategies, I can help individuals achieve real growth and personal transformation. And I choose to work with individuals who are striving for fluency to support them in all areas of life, where stuttering impacts them on a daily basis. There are stuttering coaches out there that focus solely on the mechanics, throwing in a bit of mindset work as well. In my experience, once you know how to use the fluency shaping tools and techniques and have gained some level of mastery with them, there's much more work to be done that goes deeper than the physical mechanics. Beneath, the external struggle is an internal one. I see the biggest opportunity for true recovery and healing from the traumatic side effects of stuttering is done from an inside-out approach. It's about focusing on the psychological and emotional aspects of stuttering. It's about offering practical solutions for managing speaking situations in everyday life and supporting personal growth and transformation through deep discovery and self-compassion. So when choosing the best path for you, it's important to know that neither speech therapy or coaching are better or worse. They're just different, each with their unique approaches, solutions, and benefits. Depending on your current needs, one approach might be more beneficial to you than the other, but more than likely utilizing the services between speech therapy and coaching is a beneficial combination. The good news is that you get to decide. There are four ways how coaching compares to traditional speech therapy. Number one, a singular outer focus versus a holistic inner approach. Speech therapy services tend to have a singular focus, addressing the mechanics of physical speech. An SLP's focus is to help clients learn and use a variety of tools and techniques and use them for shaping fluency and speech. The nature of coaching on the other hand is able to offer a much more holistic approach. The coaching I do extends above and beyond the physical aspects. It goes much deeper to explore the emotional, psychological, and social impact of stuttering, including the factors triggering a stuttering relapse. For you, it's about so much more than preventing stuttering from happening. It's about helping you learn what to do instead. When your body freezes, your skills don't work, and you lose all fluency in those specific and important moments that matter most to you. Now I understand there are no absolutes, as I'm sure there are SLPs who do have additional skills and resources to offer. But for the most part, the psychological, mental, and emotional aspects are an added bonus depending on the SLP and not part of their core training. Here is another way that coaching compares to traditional speech therapy. Number two, lost in the group versus personalized one-on-one attention. speech therapy services for the treatment of stuttering are offered both individually and in a group setting. For economical reasons, group therapy is common and popular. I believe doing group therapy is a great way to learn the basics and lay the foundation of the fluency shaping techniques, but it can be hard for some to be vulnerable in front of others. And it's easy to get lost in the crowd, especially within a group of people. Once progress has been made in learning and applying the skills, it's very possible for a person to grow out of the need for group therapy. Eventually, strategies need to be tailored and aligned to an individual specific needs and fluency goals. This is where one-on-one attention is beneficial. Students' coaching meets a client exactly where they are in their life. Coaching helps them identify their unique triggers for stuttering, develop personalized strategies for improving speech fluency, and track their progress over time. The third way that coaching compares to traditional speech therapy is this. Intensive short-term program versus slower long-term coaching. In my experience, I remember the three-week intensive therapy to be fast. I felt the pressure to learn the fluency shaping tools and techniques as quickly as possible, and it's true that you can learn to create control fluency speech in a very short time. But as you most likely have experienced, it's another ballgame to execute the tools and techniques and put them into practice over the long-term in the real world. It's after intensive speech therapy that there's a tendency for relapses to happen. And this is because change takes time and dedication for new behaviors to stick. Plus, it can be challenging to stay disciplined and motivated over the long haul. This is where coaching really shines to offer ongoing support that contributes to sustained progress over time. When I went through my own personal relapse, it wasn't because I didn't know that techniques or didn't try to use them. It's just that I needed more in the moment guidance on what to do when a speaking situation ended up in disaster, feeling discouraged and embarrassed. Creating new behaviors on top of a deeply ingrained and conditioned behavior, such as stuttering is not easy. And it's for this reason it takes consistency and commitment for effective long-term change. And finally, number four, how coaching compares to traditional speech therapy. An SLP who doesn't stutter versus a coach with the lived experience of stuttering. There are SLPs who don't stutter and some that do. For the ones who don't, even with great empathy, I'm sure it's very difficult for them to understand what the everyday experiences like for a person who stutters. On the surface, there might be a tendency to think it's just a matter of choice that maybe somehow an individual is lazy for not using their targets. If only it was that simple. Believe me, I understand there's a lot going on below the surface of what's seen physically. And speaking of seen, a big part of what was missing for me in the intensive program was seeing someone who was already ahead of me. I needed to see what success could look like to know that it was possible and to inspire me on my own journey of recovery. And this is why I became a coach to be the person I needed when I was younger, because seeing is believing. Here's a quick recap. What you need is a holistic solution, it helps you learn about and address every cause affecting fluency. As you do have fluency, it's just that there are other issues getting in the way. Number two, there are benefits to both group therapy and one-to-one coaching. Group therapy is great for learning the basics and establishing a good foundation of techniques within a group of peers. But for deeper inner work, coaching meets a person exactly where they are. Number three, depending on how much time you have to work and focus on your speech may determine whether an intensive short-term program is best for you. In my experience, you need a longer runway of time to execute and integrate new ways of behavior, which long-term coaching provides. And finally, number four, of course there are SLPs that do stutter and can bring their own unique experience. But many do not. So it's really your personal preference on who you want to work with. Between SLPs and coaching, there can be an overlap of varying degrees in the depth of services provided. Such as mindfulness techniques, cognitive behavioral strategies, exploring deeply ingrained thoughts and feelings, reframing limited beliefs and eliminating negative self-talk, self-awareness of emotional triggers and environmental influences, shifting self-perception and improving self-esteem, reducing anxiety and improving self-confidence, support and guidance in navigating social interactions and communication challenges, and an emphasis on life skills, including self-advocacy, assertiveness, and resilience. All of these factors add up, contributing to a much more well-rounded healing and recovery. Finally, I want to share that I've experienced the toxic shame from a stuttering relapse after speech therapy, and that internal shame and pride prevented me from seeking further help due to the fear of judgment, that I would somehow disappoint others if they knew. The last thing someone needs is to feel even more guilty, or that somehow they failed by not doing something the right way. I know how important it is to provide a supportive and non-judgmental space. It's difficult to navigate this journey alone. The experience of going through a stuttering relapse can be overwhelming, and it's easy to get lost without guidance. Of course, it's normal to feel reluctant as past negative experiences or perceived lack of progress make individuals hesitant to seek help again. My goal is to help others foster a sense of acceptance and not add shame for not following through. It's about asking the right questions to discover the barriers of what's getting in the way preventing fluency. My role as a coach is to help identify the factors that are actually getting in the way of maintaining fluency. I act as a guide, offering expertise, personalized strategies, and emotional support throughout the recovery process, and together realistic expectations are set, goals are established in a collaborative manner, all helping to foster a renewed sense of hope and motivation. At the end of the day, there are many options for you out there. Whether you're working with a speech therapist or in a group therapy intensive program or one-to-one with a coach, the most important aspect is finding a path that resonates with you and addresses your specific challenges. Remember there is no one-size-fits-all solution, so explore your options and take decisive steps moving forward. The key lies in finding the approach that empowers you to achieve your fluency goals. Need more clarity to understand how coaching might be a solution for you? Book a free consultation call to share your current challenges and ask questions on how coaching can help you. Learn more at thehappysteader.com. Thanks for listening to The Beneath Your Stutter Podcast. If you've enjoyed this episode, I'd be grateful for you to leave a review. Your ratings and reviews help more people like you find this podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and share this episode with someone you think would love it. To learn more about how coaching can help, head on over to thehappysteader.com or follow me on Instagram at thehappysteader. Until next time, I'm Paige Smith. Keep smiling.