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Kristin Chmela, M.A., CCC-SLP, BCS-SCF, of the Chmela Communication Center, join host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to discuss what it means to keep the person at the center of stuttering therapy. The conversation explores what person-centered care looks like in practice and how clinicians can keep the individual who stutters at the heart of clinical decision-making. She also introduce the Circle of Principles, describing how this framework can support thoughtful reflection, guide problem-solving in therapy, and help clinicians navigate complexities while remaining grounded in the needs and experiences of the person they support.

Kristin Chmela, M.A., CCC-SLP, BCS-SCF has serviced children and teens who stutter for almost forty years at the Chmela Communication Center in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. She is an author, lecturer, consultant, and co-founder and Director of the Training and Therapeutic Experience Program at Camp Shout Out. Kristin holds certifications in yoga, mindfulness, and trauma informed practices. She continues to spend the majority of her time helping individuals who stutter, clutter, and have other fluency challenges and remains passionate about helping speech language pathologists service this population.

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Martha Jeffery, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering in London, joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to discuss a qualitative research project exploring parents’ and children’s perspectives of change following one year of Palin STSC (8–14 years old) therapy. Martha shares the aims and design of the study, which examined how children participating in group or individual therapy, and their parents, described the changes they experienced, and what felt most meaningful.
Drawing on thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews, the conversation highlights key themes including shifts in perspective, increased confidence and participation, greater use of skills and strategies, and growing independence and resilience. Martha reflects on how meaningful change from the child and parent perspectives can positively contribute to our therapy development, outcome measurement, individualization, and guide future training and research.

Bio: Martha Jeffery is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering in London, UK and she has worked there since 2013. She started her career as a Speech and Language Therapist in 2008, and before then she had an earlier life in conference organizing and then banking. At the Michael Palin Centre she works with children and young people who stammer and their families, carrying out assessments and delivering therapy individually and in groups. She also has a smaller caseload of adults who stammer. She is a co-cordinator of the Michael Palin Centre’s training programme, which delivers 12 core courses that range from therapy programmes such as Palin PCI, to using psychological approaches such as Solution Focused Brief Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy with people who stammer. The Centre’s training courses reach over 600 speech and language therapists globally each year, which reaches an estimated 6000 children who stammer worldwide annually. Martha also devises and delivers training programmes - most recently a one-day course on Cluttering. The third strand of Martha’s work at The Michael Palin Centre, is contributing to their research programme and she will be talking about the research project she is currently working on today.

Martha has attended additional training in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and has an Advanced Certificate in Solution Focused Brief Therapy from BRIEF (London)’s year-long programme. She is co-author of Solution Focused Brief Therapy with Children and Young People who Stammer and their Parents: A Practical Guide from the Michael Palin Centre (2024) with Ali Berquez. She is not a person who stammers, but she is married to a person who stammers and is mother to two children - one whose stammer resolved and one whose stammer has continued.

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David Luterman, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, Professor Emeritus at Emerson College, joins host Sara MacIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP, to explore what it truly means to be family-centered in clinical practice. Drawing on more than 60 years of clinical and teaching experience, Dr. Luterman shares stories and formative moments that have shaped his belief in placing families at the center of assessment and therapy. The conversation invites clinicians to reflect on how thoughtfully supporting families can foster deeper, more meaningful change for clients.

Additional Resources:

• Empowering the Client with Dr. David Luterman
• 60 Years of Clinical Teacher in Counseling: Reflections with Dr. David Luterman
• Sharpening Counseling Skills
• Parent Counseling: Conversations with David Luterman

David Luterman, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, is a professor emeritus at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts and Director of the Thayer Lindsey Family Centered Nursery for Hearing Impaired Children. He is the author of many articles and several books, including his seminal book called Counseling Persons with Communication Disorders and Their Families, now in its 5th edition. He has done several podcasts and a DVD through the Stuttering Foundation called Counseling People who Stutter and Their Families. In addition to authoring many books, he is a well-known teacher, researcher, consultant, and lecturer. Dr. Luterman is a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and recipient of the Frank Kleffner Clinical Achievement Award (2011).