iHOPE Stuttering Lab
For Clinicians
Resources, reflection questions, and research-informed tools for SLP graduate students and practicing clinicians navigating spirituality in stuttering care.
The Clinical Challenge
Why Spirituality Belongs in Stuttering Treatment
Stuttering is not only a speech phenomenon. For many people who stutter, the experience is deeply intertwined with questions of identity, purpose, community belonging, and spiritual meaning. A client may describe their stuttering in terms of what God intended, what their faith community expects, or how their sense of self has been shaped by years of navigating speaking situations.
Person-centered care requires that clinicians follow the client's definition of what matters. If a client's spiritual life is central to how they understand their stuttering — and for many it is — then a clinician who cannot engage with that dimension is not fully present.
ASHA's cultural responsiveness mandate explicitly includes religion and spirituality. Yet most SLP graduate programs provide no structured training in how to navigate these conversations. This page is a starting point.
Clinical Reflection
Questions Worth Sitting With
These questions are drawn from the iHOPE Lab's research agenda and are designed to support reflective practice. They are not a checklist — they are an invitation to examine your own readiness to engage with the full humanity of the people you serve.
Self-Awareness
What is my own relationship with spirituality, and how might it shape the way I listen to a client's spiritual concerns?
Have I ever avoided asking a client about their spiritual life because I was uncertain how to respond?
What assumptions do I carry about what 'counts' as a spiritual concern in a clinical conversation?
Clinical Practice
When a client who stutters says 'I feel like God made me this way for a reason,' how do I respond — and why?
How do I distinguish between a client's spiritual meaning-making and clinical avoidance?
In what speaking situations might a client's spiritual community be a source of support — or a source of pressure?
Treatment Planning
Does my current treatment planning process include any mechanism for understanding a client's spiritual or existential relationship with their stuttering?
How might the HOPE framework dimensions (Hope, Openness, Participation, Experience) map onto my existing treatment goals?
What would it look like to include 'community belonging' as a measurable participation outcome?
Clinical Application
Spirituality Across ICF Participation Domains
The iHOPE Lab's simulation environments are designed to activate distinct ICF participation domains while also targeting HOPE framework dimensions. This table maps the clinical terrain.
| ICF Domain | Scenario | Spiritual / Existential Dimension |
|---|---|---|
| Vocational Participation | Job Interview | Does this role carry meaning or purpose? Hope / identity. |
| Autonomy / Self-Advocacy | Medical Appointment | Is provider trust present? Community and organized religion. |
| Educational Participation | Classroom / Academic | Sense of self under performance pressure. Personal spirituality. |
| Relational Participation | Family Conversation | Burden perception, belonging. Effects on others. |
Key Literature
Where to Start Reading
These sources form the evidentiary foundation for the iHOPE Lab's primary research focus.
Mathisen, B., et al. (2015).
Religion, Spirituality and Speech-Language Pathology: A Viewpoint for Ensuring Patient-Centred Holistic Care.
Journal of Religion and Health, 54(6), 2309–23.
The foundational paper naming spirituality as a 'largely neglected' variable in SLP practice and calling for training-level intervention.
Kirchgessner, R. T., & Mahurin Smith, J. (2024).
Religious and Spiritual Self-Assessment for Speech-Language Pathologists.
Graduate Independent Studies – CSD, Illinois State University.
Develops a self-assessment tool for SLPs to reflect on their competence in spiritual care, grounded in ASHA's cultural responsiveness mandate.
Holland, A. L., & Nelson, R. L. (2018).
Counseling in Communication Disorders: A Wellness Perspective.
Plural Publishing.
A foundational text for counseling in CSD that touches on spiritual dimensions of communication disorders.
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View on InstagramExplore the Research Behind These Resources
The iHOPE Lab is actively developing the evidence base for these clinical tools. Learn more about the research agenda and the theoretical framework.