Friday, June 17, 2011

Mindfulness in stuttering?

Boyle wrote an article on the potential use of mindfulness in the treatment of stuttering. The abstract is well written and the article looks worth reading. I myself have tried out mindfulness but not on a long term basis. The idea is simple: you just sit silently and direct all your attention to a single source of attention: be it breathing, eating a grape, your inner self, or focusing on a visual stimulus. Even five minutes give you a sense of peace. But of course no cure at all for stuttering, but rather gives you the ability to take a step back from daily life, reduce your stress levels, and reflect on your condition. I see mindfulness as a non-pharmaceutical treatment to decrease anxiety and stress in order to start working on stuttering or the psychosocial maladaptations.

Some readers always imply that I am against qualitative research or discussions. That is not the case. However, I do take the view that you either write qualitatively about techniques or experiences, OR you write a serious scientific articles. The mixture of both is usually a disaster.

Here is the abstract:
The use of mindfulness training for increasing psychological well-being in a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations has exploded over the last decade. In the area of stuttering, it has been widely recognized that effective long-term management often necessitates treatment of cognitive and affective dimensions of the disorder in addition to behavioral components. Yet, mindfulness based strategies and their possible usefulness in stuttering management have not been described in detail in the literature. This article seeks to engage professionals who treat stuttering in a conversation about the possible usefulness of incorporating mindfulness training into stuttering management. A review of the literature reveals that there is a substantial overlap between what is required for effective stuttering management and the benefits provided by mindfulness practices. Mindfulness practice results in decreased avoidance, increased emotional regulation, and acceptance in addition to improved sensory-perceptual processing and attentional regulation skills. These skills are important for successful long-term stuttering management on both psychosocial and sensory-motor levels.

8 comments:

Burk said...

Yes, relaxation and recentering are great. But stuttering is something quite different- a wiring problem, somewhat exacerbated by stress.

Ora said...

@Burk:

Well, stress reduction is one of the potential effects of mindfulness. So to the extent that stuttering is exacerbated by stress, mindfulness can reduce stuttering, no?

Anonymous said...

is this blog dying. no interesting posts in a while!

Tom Weidig said...

I am busy, but I have plenty of interesting drafts... :-(

Anonymous said...

First request: More on Wwwwwwiki Leaks!!! PLEASE

Is this because threat of legal action against the stuttering brain by Onslow and Packwoman???

Stuttering Mafia trying to shut Tom up, for telling the truth and exposing fraud???

Anonymous said...

Same anonymous who asked if this blog is dying above.

I love this blog. Tom's the best. And I try to check it every day or two, so these long waits are annoying :) This is more of a compliment than an insult, Tom. Hurry up and post already! I would donate some money each year if you posted more regularly.

Ora said...

To Anonymous & Anonymous:

Have you tried Google Reader? It watches pages for you, and displays changes.

Stay up to date
Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you can be sure that you won't miss a thing.

Simplify your reading experience
Google Reader shows you all of your favorite sites in one convenient place. It's like a personalized inbox for the entire web.


http://www.google.com/intl/en/googlereader/tour.html .

I also wait for Tom's posts and I hope he'll post more. But in the meantime, Google Reader might help keeping up.

Lisa said...

Tom your posts are great. I know it's hard to keep up sometimes when life gets busy. Don't get discouraged, you are appreciated