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Adult Group Stammering Courses

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Find out about the different courses for adults who stammer.

Are you looking for help with your stammer? One option is a group course.

Find out about the different courses on offer below. If you have any questions about anything on this page, chat with us. Call our free helpline on 0808 802 0002 or start a webchat.

On this page:

How courses can help
Types of courses
Speech & language therapy courses
Other stammering courses
Getting funding for courses
Things to watch out for
Course not working out?

How courses can help

A short, intensive stammering course might be more convenient than regular, ongoing therapy for some. They might also be the only option if NHS speech & language therapy isn't available where you live.

Courses can help to make speaking easier by learning a technique or new approach. They can also help to build confidence in speaking.

Types of courses

There are different types of courses out there for stammering. Unfortunately there isn't one approach that 'works' for everyone. What one person finds helpful might not suit someone else.

Some courses are led by qualified speech & language therapists. Others are run by people who stammer, and who have found the course helpful.

Speech & language therapy courses can offer a range of different approaches. Some might teach a technique or look at psychological aspects, or maybe both. Non-therapy stammering courses offer a technique and tools that therapy courses don't teach. (To find out more about these differences, see Adult Stammering Options Explained).

Anyway, here's a list of all the options.

Speech & language therapy courses

The following are courses run by qualified speech & language therapists.

City Lit

City Lit is an adult education centre in London offering group therapy courses. These can be intensive, with sessions lasting four or five days, or non-intensive, eg 2 hours a week for 8 weeks.

Some of the courses include:

  • Block Modification techniques to reduce the struggle to speak. 
  • Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, to help with negative thoughts. 

(See Adult Options Explained to find out more about these types of therapy.) 

City Lit also runs non-therapy courses like public speaking and self-compassion for people who stammer.

Cost: Course costs vary. Concessions and bursaries are available.

Visit the City Lit website for details.

Upcoming City Lit courses:

  • 7-day intensive course (starting 11th Nov)
  • Embodied voice for people who stammer (starting 24th Oct)
  • Self-compassion for people who stammer (online, 12th Nov)

Other courses

Below are alternative options to therapy courses. These are run by people who have been on courses and found them helpful, rather than therapists. (See Adult Options Explained for details about techniques taught on these courses. Look under the 'Non-therapy courses' header). 

Please note: approaches below might use language that some people may object to. For instance "We can help overcome stammering". Depending on your viewpoint, discretion is advised. See 'Things to watch out for'.

Empowering Voices

Empowering Voices runs 3-day residential courses throughout the UK. It teaches a breathing technique and desensitisation exercises, aiming to control stammering.

Cost: Courses cost £250. This includes free lifetime support and refresher courses. Accommodation is extra. Visit the Empowering Voices website for details.

Visit the Empowering Voices website for details.

Upcoming Empowering Voices courses:

  • 28th-30th October in Peterborough *This course is free, to coincide with Int. Stammering Awareness Day


The McGuire Programme

The McGuire Programme runs 3- or 4-day residential courses across the UK. It supports adults who stammer by teaching and practising a breathing technique. They combine this with: 

  • relaxation exercises 
  • mental strategies.

It says its aims are to help deal with the fear of stammering and develop an assertive attitude to it. Also that its goal is eloquence rather than fluency. 

Cost: Courses cost £1,000+. Paying once entitles you to attend as many courses as you want. Accommodation is extra.

Visit the McGuire Programme website for details.

Upcoming McGuire Programme courses:

  • Full course: 27th-30th November in Newcastle.


The Starfish Project

The Starfish Project runs 3-day courses in Eastbourne. It supports adults who stammer by teaching and practising a breathing technique. They combine this with: 

  • reducing avoidance 
  • increasing confidence 
  • developing a positive attitude.

Cost: Courses cost £250. This includes free lifetime support and refresher courses. Accommodation is extra. 

Visit The Starfish Project website for details.

Upcoming Starfish Project courses:

  • Adult course: 21st-23rd January.


The Stammering Self-empowerment Programme

This is a free online course that teaches two fluency enhancing methods. It's designed to help develop a deeper understanding of stammering and what affects it. Paul Brocklehurst, its founder, is an academic who has carried out extensive research into stammering.

Cost: Free. 

Visit The Stammering Self-empowerment Programme website to find out more.

Getting funding for courses

There are a couple of ways you might be able to get funding for a stammering course.

GP funding

You could try asking your GP to fund a stammering course. This is only occasionally successful, however, but it might be worth a try.  

Asking your employer

You could try asking your employer to pay for you to go on a stammering course. They might be happy to support you, particularly if it can help your professional development. 

If you're unsure about how to ask for it, contact our Employment Support Service. We can discuss with you how to approach your employer.

Things to watch out for

Above are the main stammering courses for adults in the UK. Some might use language that could be seen as biased and non-neutral. For example, they might refer to stammering as an affliction or misfortune. Some people argue that describing stammering in this way adds to the stigma, while others don't.

You might come across other approaches online that aren't on our list. To safeguard against untested or unqualified providers, we recommend choosing one which:

  • offers realistic expectations of change and NOT an offer of a cure or a way of 'stopping' stammering
  • provides clear and unambiguous information about what it does and how much it costs. Also, how long it is and the commitment needed
  • recognises the need to accept one's stammer at some level, to help speech and/or a change in attitude
  • is nationally recognised as supporting people who stammer to communicate confidently. We judge this based on an organisation's track record, a considerable body of independent user reviews and good feedback. 

Other options

Stammering courses are one option for adults who stammer. For other options, see:

Course not working out?

Are you having doubts about the course you are having? Doesn't feel like the right fit for you? See What To Do If Your Adult Therapy/Course Isn't Working Out.

Disclaimer

Courses, therapy providers and tools listed here are reviewed intermittently by the STAMMA Service Panel.

Inclusion on the website does not indicate endorsement by STAMMA. It simply indicates that those listed have met the basic criteria for inclusion. Details of courses and therapy is for information purposes only. This information is not advice and should not be treated as such.

Through this page you can link to other websites that are not controlled by STAMMA. We bear no responsibility for the accuracy, content or nature of these sites. This includes any language used to describe or refer to stammering.

Getting your service listed

If you have a service or course you'd like us to include here, see How To Get Your Service Listed.

What next?

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Thank you.

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