What to expect during the four days...

About the four day intensive course

Recovery begins with a four day intensive course which takes you out of the swamp of tricks and avoidances. From here you begin your journey along ‘Freedoms Road’ towards ELOQUENCE. For some, this may be a long journey and that’s okay. Everybody is different and our courses are structured so that each person’s individual needs are met. We believe that stuttering is not the fear of speaking but it is the fear of stuttering. And in order to deal with the stuttering, we have to address both the physical and psychological aspects to stuttering.

Day 1:

The morning sessions are spent learning and drilling the physical parts of the technique which are concentration training and breathing by using your intercostals muscles (costal diaphragm). The culmination of these sessions is strong, immediate fluency. These structured sessions are drilled on a one to one basis with graduates and coaches of the program. Fear reduction techniques and non-avoidance training are also a substantial part of the McGuire Program. These techniques are introduced on the first day and are practiced throughout the course.

Day 2:

Even at this early stage of the course, you will be feeling quite free from the fear of stuttering. Your confidence and self-esteem will be increasing by the hour. We teach you how to be assertive, not only in your speech, but in other areas in your life. You will get an understanding of why at certain times in your life your stutter is more prominent than at other times. Why you can talk quite fluently one minute and the next minute you fall apart. We confront those psychological mechanisms (denial, intellectualization and externalization) that result in a return to tricks and avoidances. Day 2 also introduces John Harrison’s Stuttering Hexagon. You will learn and carry out the fundamentals of making and receiving telephone calls. In the evening the older graduates take the new participants out into the streets and show case the technique and tools in real life situations. Day two is about changing perceptions.

Day 3:

Is about letting go and having fun, this is done by participating in role plays and experimenting with your new found techniques and tools. You will also be shown how to approach people on the street/shops putting all you have learned into practice using your new technique and tools whilst supported by course graduates. This is a great day, it is very emotional.

Day 4:

The final day of the course is for reviewing and preparing you for your return home. We will also prepare you for some of the complications of the real world including how to deal with possible relapses should that occur. We will also discuss the crucial LIFETIME follow-up support and to answer any queries that you may have about this or anything else that we have covered on the course. Family and friends are very welcome to come along to the final session of the course for your farewell speech. This is a very worthwhile session for both students and family alike. Continue