Journal of Fluency Disorders 47 (2016) 73–74

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Fluency Disorders

Book review

Mindfulness and Stuttering: Using Eastern Strategies to Speak with Greater Ease, E.-M. Silverman. (2012). Softcover

For those who have been curious about the trend toward using mindfulness meditation with individuals who stutter,
this 129 page gem of a book offers everything you need to get started. It is simple and direct, inviting, honest, and full of
wisdom. I for one, will be enthusiastically sharing it with my clients, students, and colleagues.
Mindfulness meditation is indeed coming to the fore of mainstream consciousness – and for good reasons. Reducing stress,
improving the quality of life, developing desirable relationships, and increasing health and happiness are among them. But
it is the transforming of the struggle and fear of stuttering to the ability to speak with greater ease and authenticity as told
from the personal journey of an accomplished clinician, researcher, educator, and meditator of nearly 20 years, who also
stutters, that is a good reason for people who stutter to read on and consider practicing mindfulness. “Please recognize this
slim book as a presentation of a coordinated, integrated practice, or schemata, of specific mindfulness meditation practices
I personally have combined to satisfactorily address my stuttering, (p. 6)” says Ellen-Marie Silverman, PhD.
Right from the introduction, Silverman dispels preconceived notions of mindfulness, establishing that it is a secular
activity to be approached with curiosity and consideration of our own instincts. She cautions against having expectations or
grasping for specific or quick results, recognizing that this process of change requires patience and nonjudgmental obser-
vation. Thus, a paradox of having hope and clear intentions to change as we wish to without forcing change or trying to fix
anything is established. What she does distinguish as a realistic expectation that results from living mindfully is “a sense of
self-mastery that comes from learning to quiet and strengthen our mind to see more clearly and act more skillfully. . .Doing
so, we become increasingly confident. We live and speak with greater ease (p. 11).” In fact, she began meditating for reasons
other than her speech and only began to notice its profound ripple effect on her stuttering after some time.
Chapters 3 and 4 are dedicated to establishing what is meant by mindfulness and the fundamentals of mindfulness
meditation. After identifying how mindless, absent-minded, distracted and forgetful we can all be as we go about our days,
the pitfalls of mindless stuttering are described. Mindfulness, on the other hand, involves bringing a relaxed awareness
to what is occurring in the present moment including the pleasant and unpleasant things we encounter. Just how this
intentional relaxed awareness can be cultivated and strengthened over time is the heart of our learning to meditate. While
Silverman does not claim to be offering an instruction manual in meditation, discussion of the four core focuses of practice
provide a helpful guide: calming the mind, looking and seeing, staying with emotions and sensations, and experiencing a
sense of ease. Each area is explored in detail and related to the experiences, feelings, and behaviors of stuttering.
Silverman is well versed in Tibetan terminology and teaches it to us in easy-to-understand terms and anecdotes. She
is especially drawn to the usefulness of working with shenpa in order to skillfully manage the automatic “fight or flight”
reactions that occur during moments of stuttering. Shenpa “can be likened to an uncomfortable feeling we may have that
signals things are not going as we wish (p. 41).” And so we grasp for pleasant experiences and resist the unpleasant often she
points out, at the cost of authentically and fully participating in life. The practice of staying with emotions and experiences
we prefer to avoid, to even welcome them, is the goal. Working with shenpa associated with moments of stuttering will
resonate with anyone who has used “freezing in the moment of stuttering” (Van Riper, 1973) as a desensitization technique.
In short, working with shenpa is “learning to do what we initially abhor and resist, staying. Standing toe-to-toe with the
fears and the physical unpleasantness of stuttering for which we have fled for much of our lives we apply our courage and
curiosity to examine them (p. 44).”
Chapters 5 and 6 focus specifically on six mindfulness meditation practices for stuttering. After establishing the increased
ability to live with greater ease, Silverman discusses in great detail how this generalizes to speaking with greater ease. From
previously established practices, the focus is on developing awareness of what occurs in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
when stuttering, and then managing to stay with what is unpleasant or feared. “I am struggling. I gently release myself from
struggling.” In these pages she echoes the teaching of our forefathers Dean Williams and Wendell Johnson who in the 1950s
espoused the notion that avoiding or resisting stuttering contributes to worsening the behaviors associated with it. When

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she describes using “recognizing, renouncing, relaxing, and resolving” practices to managing moments of stuttering, we are
reminded of the stuttering modification technique pull-out.
However, it is more than this. The context and attitude that accompanies applying mindfulness practices to the act of
stuttering and the accompanying myriad of thoughts, feelings, and struggle behaviors brings calm acceptance to the process
of behavioral change. Practicing nonjudgmental awareness builds a solid base for speaking with greater ease. No longer
avoiding moments of stuttering or pushing to get words out, the essence of stuttering is discovered. Silverman guides the
reader in understanding the process that enables the speaker to be increasingly aware of what is going on inside and outside,
and being genuinely accepting of whatever it is. Anyone who stutters and has tried this, or any clinician who has tried to
guide someone in doing this, realizes that it is not easy! And so it is the 60 substantive pages of these two chapters that break
down how this is done gently and directly, especially when faced with fear and other difficult emotions, using the tools of
mindfulness meditation. Included are the use of maitri (unconditional self-regard), lojong (focusing by using slogans), gathas
(focusing through the use of verse), and tonglen (considering our connection with others).
Reminders to bring patience, kindness, and self-appreciation to learning the practices of mindfulness meditation are
offered again and again. The final portion of the chapters is dedicated to extending kindness to others, realizing that we are
all very similar as human beings – we all seek happiness and ease in our lives. Individuals who stutter may not be as different
or alone as they think. “We are not the only one,” Silverman repeats as a sort of mantra. We are all connected, those who
stutter and those who don’t.
Finally, leaving us with the confidence that if we want to change, mindfulness can help, the last chapter is dedicated to the
process of change itself. This includes starting over as we find ourselves off tract, and persevering when faced with obstacles.
Perhaps by just reading the book we have started to experience a degree of mindfulness. . .somewhat calmer, feeling safer,
more prepared to face what we fear, willing to allow things to be as they really are rather than working so hard to make as
we’d like them to be. Could this explain the sigh I breathed when finishing the last page?
For those of us who have already introduced mindfulness into our integrated therapy programs for many years now,
we have a new practical tool to use with our clients. One that translates teachings from contemporary leaders and gurus
who introduced us to Eastern philosophies – Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jack Kornfield, Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chödrön, and Sharon
Salzberg, directly to the personal experience of stuttering. Additionally, Silverman addresses our growing use of cognitive
approaches in fluency therapy by discussing commonalities in mindfulness training with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and
Transactional Analysis. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a mindfulness-based behavioral therapy approach (Beilby
& Byrnes, 2012; Beilby, Byrnes, & Yaruss, 2012; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999), might also have been included in this
discussion. Otherwise, the bibliography is extensive and resources listed are very useful for the beginner to get started.
“When we are motivated by compassion and wisdom, the results of our actions benefit everyone (Dalai Lama, 2009).”
Ellen-Marie Silverman’s writing of Mindfulness & Stuttering is such an action and will benefit everyone who reads it. Beautiful
and simply written, this book offers a healing process, the possibility of long lasting change, and the comfort of knowing it
is okay to simply be ourselves just as we are.

References

Beilby, J. M., & Byrnes, M. L. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy for people who stutter. SIG 4 Perspectives on Fluency and Fluency Disorders, 22(1),
34–46.
Beilby, J. M., Byrnes, M. L., & Yaruss, J. S. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy for adults who stutter: Psychosocial adjustment and speech fluency.
Journal of Fluency Disorders, 37(4), 289–299.
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. Guilford Press.
Lama, D. (2009). The art of happiness: A handbook for living. Penguin.
Van Riper, C. (1973). The treatment of stuttering. Prentice Hall.

Diane Constantino
Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University,
635 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, United States
E-mail address: dconstan@bu.edu

Available online 1 February 2016