Group therapy can have unexpected benefits, as happened recently in London's inner south. Andrew Harding reports

A group of teens in south London have become involved in a cutting edge youth magazine because they needed more space for speech therapy. Seeking a larger venue, course co-ordinator Elise Gibbons contacted community organisations in the area. As a result, the teenagers were given an opportunity to contribute to an article in Southwark Magazine, based in Peckham.

"Some of the group members were not looking forward to the interview with three people from the magazine, but they all faced their fears and talked about their own experiences of stammering. Several spoke very movingly about how therapy had helped them and urged people who stammer to use the help available to them," Elise said.

Southwark Magazine invited the teenagers to spend a day at their offices to learn how the magazine is put together and to give them some hands-on experience of desktop publishing. They have also offered to show them the basics of film making and editing. At least one of the group has expressed an interest in becoming involved with the magazine on a long term basis.

"Non avoidance is a big part of the therapy and we help them find ways of saying how they feel about themselves and to accept themselves as people who stammer," Elise said.

"Much of the therapy is about recognising psychological feelings, learning to deal with fears and interacting with others. We work in all sorts of ways. They modelled their stammers in plasticine and drew a picture of themselves as they are now, and as they would like to be. It's quite moving when they talk about their feelings and what they are gaining from the course."

This group is run differently to previous groups in Southwark, which tend to be one-off, week-long courses with the option of individual therapy afterwards.

Elise said she often felt like she is starting a process but was not able to follow it up successfully. Many of the school-aged clients could not easily attend weekly sessions because of exams or having to make their way to the clinic by public transport after school. As a result, the same group of five teens have been attending the clinic for week-long group therapy during school holidays - half term, Easter and again in August.

Elise believes the fact that the group members know each other well is one of the reasons for its success. They choose goals to work on themselves during breaks between therapy and are very supportive of each other. The 'fun' element is also important and the general knowledge quiz on the last day is hugely popular.

The British Stammering Association is working with the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists to campaign for more resources to be available for stammering therapy. (Ed.)

From the Autumn 2003 edition of Speaking Out