The Clinical Applications of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy With Clients Who Stutter

Abstract

The field of fluency disorders has used Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques to help clients who stutter manage their thoughts about stuttering by engaging in cognitive restructuring activities. In the late ‘90s, a new form of cognitive therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emerged, stemming from classic CBT and Relational Frame Theory (RFT). Though there is only one documented study in which ACT is used with clients who stutter, there is tremendous clinical potential to assist clients who stutter of all ages using the six core principles of ACT (contact with the present moment, acceptance, thought defusion, self as a context, defining values, and committed actions). The core principles encourage clients who stutter to live a values‐based life by assisting them in defusing adverse thoughts related to stuttering and choosing committed action behaviors and goals in accordance with their individual values through mindfulness practices. Participating in activities related to the core principles of ACT can help clients who stutter to become more psychologically flexible when managing their perceptions related to stuttering. Using ACT can further lead clients toward acceptance of all thoughts while learning to observe themselves in the present moment and make values‐based choices for future behaviors.