Hello! The course is in the idea stage right now. I'm trying to figure out some things that people specifically want to know so that the course can be as helpful as can be! That's what brought me to this page and to ask you all these questions. But here are some answers to *your* questions: 1. As a speech language pathologist I am required to perform evidence based practice always. So, yes, some of how I view stuttering therapy is based in research. But because my approach is counseling\-based, not speech\-technique\-based, there aren't always quantitative studies regarding treatment outcomes, but rather quantitative and ethnographic studies and the like. So much I've learned has also been from super\-inspiring people who stutter and clinicians that I've had the honor of working with or hearing lecture. Also, I don't really use any therapy "techniques" with my clients. I've found from personal experience and from talking to *lots* of people who stutter that techniques promoting fluency are not reliable and do not target the true root of stuttering for a lot of people. They are like putting a band aid on a gaping wound or painting over a leak in the ceiling, short term fixes at best. And they desert you when you need them most. 2. The course is not a *cure.* I don't tout a magic pill or potion to make stuttering go away. Instead, I work with clients on accepting stuttering and identifying the ways that stuttering rules their lives. By identifying ways we let stuttering call the shots and the way we react to stuttering in the moment of stuttering \(by blinking our eyes/jerking our head/etc\), we can replace these maladaptive behaviors with productive ones and with easier, open stuttering. By facing our fear of stuttering allowing ourselves to stutter, we learn that we can do anything *despite* stuttering as opposed to not being able to do anythin*g because *of stuttering. In short, we learn that there are lots of ways to react to our stutter; we may not be able to control the fact that we are about to stutter, but we have a lot of say regarding how we respond or react to that moment of stuttering. 3. So, my idea is to have the option of online therapy sessions that coincide with the online course and can continue after course completion. I have to do some research regarding HIPPA regulations and the like to make sure I'm doing online therapy appropriately from a privacy standpoint. 4. Well, my course has the option of being a self\-help sort of course, which is less expensive than direct therapy. It might be all a self\-motivated person needs to make some change in their life. After all, therapy is meant to make clients their own therapists, who can problem\-solve on their own etc. But the biggest difference I see is that my philosophy about stuttering is not fluency based. It is based on doing what you want to do when you want to do it, despite stuttering and being a good communicator in the process. It is about systematically identifying the avoidance behaviors that rule our lives and physical behaviors we do in the moment of stuttering that make our moments of stuttering tense and difficult. By identifying and eliminating these avoidance behaviors, we realize we can do most anything despite stuttering and that our stuttering patterns don't have to involve so much struggle. By allowing ourselves to stutter, we are paradoxically released from stuttering's grip. Of course it takes time to chip away at our fear of stuttering \(which is often the very root of the pain stuttering causes\) and allowing ourselves to stutter. 1. \(And, by the way, I'm not saying that I'm the only person with this view of stuttering therapy. I have accumulated the vast majority of these therapy principles over the years from colleagues, friends, professors, other people who stutter, and personal experience. These folks have helped transform my view of stuttering and my life.\)