Stuttering is a speech deviation accompanied by spasms of the facial muscles, which is a disease of the speech apparatus.
Depending on the causes, it may relate to psychosomatic forms of the disorder, be a consequence of organic lesions of the central nervous system, head injuries, and schizophrenia.
The anomaly is characterized by repetition or interruption of spoken sounds. In most cases, the phenomenon is accompanied by logophobia - fear of speech. There is an avoidance of public statements and complex speech structures, and in severe cases the disease interferes with social adaptation.
Is stuttering a mental disorder? What kind of diagnosis is this in psychology and psychiatry? When a psychologist needs to work with children and adults who stutter, what methods of psychotherapy are used to treat stuttering (logoneurosis)? Answers to questions in the article.
Who stutters?
Stuttering often begins in childhood and can vary in severity in different situations (such as talking on the phone) depending on the level of anxiety associated with that situation. Research shows that one in five children goes through a stage of stuttering, of which three out of four grow up without symptoms. Other studies indicate that 1% of the world's population suffers from stuttering (approximately 66 million people). Many famous people have stuttered, including Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Willis and Gareth Gates.
Methods of psychotherapy used
Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness that is temporary . Under a state of hypnosis, a person is extremely concentrated, suggestible, and able to remember long-forgotten events in life.
The effectiveness of the method depends on the disposition to influence - hypnotizability.
With the help of hypnosis, a doctor can:
- form non-existent memories at the subconscious level,
- change the perception and attitude towards experienced events from the past,
- correct the psychological state.
The effect of hypnosis against stuttering in children and adults cannot be achieved after one or two sessions.
Relaxation
The ability to relax and relieve muscle tension is one of the keys in the treatment of many diseases, including stuttering.
This method is used only in conjunction with others and cannot be used independently. The method is used for both adults and children.
The result of the session should be:
- relieving muscle tension, especially in the speech apparatus,
- mastering speech self-regulation techniques,
- skills to relax pathologically tense muscles,
- eliminating anxiety, fear,
- improving the ability to concentrate.
Autogenic training (autotraining)
Auto-training can be carried out independently, but it is recommended that the first sessions be accompanied by a specialist .
Before choosing a course, a psychotherapeutic conversation is held, the patient is given recommendations for further independent work.
A standard course of autogenic training contains:
- mastering self-hypnosis, local relaxation skills while pronouncing sounds,
- self-hypnosis formulas to reduce anxiety, increase self-esteem, get rid of phobias.
Meditation is focusing your attention within yourself. There are many meditation techniques for different occasions. Yogis associate stuttering with problems of the throat chakra.
To correct the situation it is recommended:
- contemplation of the blue shades of nature,
- HAMMM meditation (the mantra must be chanted until the sound fades),
- concentrating on the throat area, the place where the sound is born,
- singing notes G,
- meditation in tandem with Yoga Nidra gives excellent results,
- Proper breathing plays an important role in the treatment of stuttering. Meditative breathing practices have a positive effect on the speech apparatus.
Mantras and affirmations
Mantras are a set of sounds that need to be repeated for several minutes in a chant . Reading mantras is one of the ancient methods of meditation that came to us from Buddhism.
There are mantras for different occasions, for example:
- DAAZA - MAATOM OM - relieves stuttering,
- OM TRYAMBAKAM YAJAMAHE SUGANDHIM PUSTI VARDHANAM URVARUKAMIVA BANDHANAN MRITHIYOR MUKSHYA MAMRITAT, mantra of supreme happiness. Heals the body and spirit, gives good mood, love, happiness. To get rid of illness, the mantra should be read on the waning moon.
Affirmations are short phrases containing a certain message that needs to be fixed in the psyche . With their help, you can correct your own behavior, work out your internal attitudes, your attitude towards yourself, the outside world and people.
Example: “My speech is smooth and free”, “I speak easily and naturally”. “,I like to communicate, I easily support any topic of conversation”, “I am a happy person”, etc. It is recommended to create your own phrases aimed at solving the problems of a specific person.
Fairytale therapy for children and adults
Using this method, the patient is included in a special world of feelings, experiences and discoveries. The simplicity of the fairy tale plot contains significant psychotherapeutic value.
Using the fairy-tale form to develop speech, the patient expands consciousness and through speech builds interaction with the outside world.
Subconsciously, a person begins to associate fairy-tale events with real life, transmitting the character and emotions of the characters through his own behavior.
As a result, the patient develops new personality traits and a sense of security . The method is mainly used to treat stuttering in children, but some psychotherapists include elements of therapy for the treatment of adults as an auxiliary one.
Fairytale therapy helps a child in many areas of life, the main ones:
- development of creative imagination, non-standard perception, attention and speech skills,
- training in expressive speech, facial and pantomimic expressions of emotions,
- development of empathy,
- getting rid of tension, distracting from problems and finding their solutions.
Treatment for stuttering
Although there is currently no cure for stuttering, there are many methods that can improve the situation to some extent. It is important to get a diagnosis from an expert first and your doctor should refer you to a speech therapist who can give advice on this matter.
Hypnotherapy (psychotherapy using hypnosis) seeks to 'forget' learned behavior such as stuttering. Stuttering has a psychological basis, and if a person can speak fluently in some situations, they can often learn to speak in other situations. Hypnotherapy seeks to access the state of mind when a patient speaks fluently to help improve their speech in other difficult situations.
To date, the causes of stuttering or why it occurs in certain situations are not known. However, some research suggests there may be a genetic link or a disorder in the brain activity involved in speaking.
Kuznetsov Denis Vladimirovichpsychologist of the highest category, hypnotherapist, medical psychologist - HypnoLIFE
Duration
from 1 to 2 hours
Number of sessions
from 1 to 5
Session cost
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What is the purpose of psychological correction?
The goal of psychotherapy is to replace negative emotions with positive ones with the transformation of the individual’s attitude towards himself and the environment. This stimulates the nervous system to develop new algorithms of action, coherent speech and confident behavior.
Only a qualified specialist, having familiarized himself with the patient’s personal characteristics and traumatic circumstances, can determine the methods of psychotherapy and their sequence.
During psychotherapeutic sessions, hidden causes of phobias and other neurotic phenomena are revealed. Implicit reasons may be:
- too harsh upbringing in childhood,
- traumatic situations in the family,
- problems in study, work,
- worry about family, friends, children,
- separation from a loved one, etc.
Reviews
Review by Natalia
For most of my childhood I experienced bullying from...
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I was persuaded to undergo hypnotherapy by people around me...
Review by Zhanna
I decided to visit a hypnologist to find out more about myself and...
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For me, hypnotherapy has dramatically changed my life, which...
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Hypnosis for stuttering in a child: reviews of the psychologist Polishchuk V.I.
Hypnosis or suggestion seemed to be a good method as described. A week later we were convinced of this in practice.
A tragedy occurred in the life of our family, which resulted in our son’s stuttering. The child began to stammer on certain words, then the stuttering began to progress, and speaking became more difficult. We tried to overcome the disease with the help of treatment from a speech therapist and a neurologist.
Any measures did not bring lasting results. As soon as we gave up the pills, the stuttering returned to its previous level. The baby could not yet master breathing techniques on his own, and we were worried how difficult it would be further.
Friends found us a good psychologist. Considering the age of the child, treating psychological trauma using traditional methods will take many years, so the psychologist advised us to use self-hypnosis. My husband and I agreed that we would try all possible methods.
Self-hypnosis, as described, seemed to us to be a fairly effective technique. A month later we were convinced of this in practice. The baby began to pronounce words better from the second week. Thank you, Viktor Ivanovich, for saving our child from stuttering.
Stuttering due to parental divorce and stress.
Yanochka was a beautiful, sweet and sociable girl. Relatives and friends admired her clear pronunciation and the number of words a child can speak at 3 years old. Happiness lasted exactly until the moment of divorce. Yana turned six years old. The daughter spoke less often, less, and then completely fell silent.
I noticed the deviations after a while; at that moment I had to work a lot. Yana was more in the garden or with the nanny. Noticing signs of illness, I took my daughter to the doctors. No physiological abnormalities were found in my daughter, and only a psychologist determined that stuttering was associated with severe stress.
I tried to rectify the situation, took the child to his father, tried to create the most friendly and calm atmosphere possible. Hypnosis and self-hypnosis techniques helped us. During the consultation, the psychologist suggested this technique, and I agreed. Whenever possible, we performed the exercises recommended by the psychologist. We have finally conquered stuttering. Now I’m trying to become a friend to my daughter in order to understand her conditions in the future.
The child began to tense up when pronouncing words and this alarmed the parents, as it turned out for good reason.
Gleb grew up as an ordinary child, active, playful, but spoke little. Even close people, mom, dad, and grandmother, rarely managed to get a word out. At first, we simply attributed this oddity to the child’s shyness. But I noticed how Gleb tensed, trying to pronounce any word. We sounded the alarm and, as it turned out, not in vain.
The neurologist and speech therapist confirmed my fears. Doctors immediately prescribed medications: antispasmodics, sedatives. I understood that the pills would only give a temporary effect. We started studying a lot. Apparently, in an effort to quickly overcome the disease, I was too persistent: Gleb was afraid of exercises, stopped doing them, began to be capricious and make trouble when I tried to do a new series of exercises. I had to admit that my husband and I had chosen the wrong tactics and go to a consultation with a psychologist. It turned out that Gleb has a very excitable psyche, this factor explains the difficulties encountered in pronunciation. In order not to traumatize the child with activities, we chose the help of a psychologist and this turned out to be the right decision.
I didn't know that hypnosis was suitable for children, but I decided to try it. The result was impressive.
Julia was born a difficult child. She has a disease of the nervous system, which, unfortunately, also affected her speech. The doctors warned my husband and I about this development of events. When Yulia turned 4 years old, we started visiting doctors and finding out how serious the pathology was and what methods would help cope with the disease.
The forecasts were not reassuring; this was confirmed by the daughter’s silence: at the age of 4-5 she spoke rarely and very little. We didn’t give up, learned to do breathing exercises, visited speech therapists and a neurologist once a week. The results were, but not very convincing. One day I just gave up and burned out emotionally. The daughter was very worried. My sister suggested trying hypnosis.
I had no idea that hypnosis was available as a treatment option for children, so I decided to give it a try. The results were impressive: for the first time in a long time, the daughter began to speak phrases clearly and without tension. At the moment, difficulties have not left us completely; we go to a neurologist regularly, but hypnosis has helped us overcome psychological barriers.
We tried to treat stuttering through doctors, healers, and psychics, but this did not help and the situation only worsened.
Serezha's stuttering appeared suddenly. For a long time we could not understand what was happening. They took him to different doctors, traditional healers, and psychics. But no deviations were found in his mental or physiological development. Time passed, but we could not understand the reason for the child’s stuttering. The situation worsened: Seryozha began to speak indistinctly and stutter. This irritated the whole family; the child was constantly explained that he was speaking incorrectly.
Relatives considered it their duty and responsibility to show how to say it correctly. This apparently was the last straw, the child became isolated: he practically stopped playing with toys, did not watch cartoons, and was of little interest to what was happening around him.
We sounded the alarm and went to a psychologist. During the consultation, in addition to a set of valuable recommendations, the specialist advised the use of hypnosis and self-hypnosis. Now Seryozha speaks normally, there is no more stuttering, all fears and worries are behind him. Many thanks to psychologist Polishchuk for the work done.
Psychologist's phone number: +7 (918) 612‑79‑20
More details on the page: Psychologist V.I. Polishchuk
