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From: John Tetnowski
Date: 10/14/02
Time: 10:32:42 AM
Remote Name: 130.70.137.156
Gunars,
I did not mean to insinuate that you were trying to "trick" us, I just meant that philosophy and theory will guide the answer to your questions (with a little clinical intuition mixed in for good measure). Personally, I like to let my "adult" clients help set their goals for therapy. If this means enough control to make a career choice, then we will indeed concentrate on that type of goal. In my experiences, I have had some clients that figured out a way to get to the job they want. A few years ago, I went through a group of files from clients that I saw through a private practice (years ago). It really did surprise me to see that the most common profession among my adult clients was SALES. I wondered why so many people who stuttered went into sales. After a few minutes I recognized that there was a logical explanation. People whose livlihood depended on higher levels of fluency sought out the services of a private speech-language pathologist. There are many people who stutter out there that did not need the levels of fluency that these select few needed. Therefore they sought out the service that they needed. People in other professions did not the same level of fluency, therefore, they sought either no treatment or a different type of treatment. Another clinical tid-bit. One of my more memorable and interesting clients was an emergency room physician. He learned a strategy that did not discount him from his chosen profession. I am sure that there are lots of other success stories like these.
Thanks for the comments, thanks for your concern and drive, and good luck with the degree (right now, lounging on the beach does sound good though!)
John T.