An Experimental Clinical Trial of a Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Package for Chronic Stuttering

Purpose: The aims of the present study were to ( a) examine the rate of social phobia among adults who stutter, (b) study the effects of speech restructuring treatment on social anxiety, and ( c) study the effects on anxiety and stuttering of a cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) package for social anxiety. Method: Thirty-two adults with chronic stuttering were randomly allocated to receive either speech restructuring following a CBT package for social anxiety or speech restructuring alone. Data were obtained on a variety of speech and psychological measures at pre-treatment, post-CBT, post-speech restructuring, and 12 months follow-up. Results: Sixty percent of our cohort were diagnosed with social phobia. Speech restructuring treatment alone had no impact on the social phobia of our cohort at 12 months follow- up. At follow- up, participants who had received CBT showed no social phobia and greater improvements than control participants on a range of psychological measures of anxiety and avoidance. However, the CBT package made no difference to the speech outcomes of those with social phobia. Conclusion: The CBT treatment was associated with significant and sustained improvements in psychological functioning but did not improve fluency.