Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for a Male Who Stuttered: A Case Study

Abstract

The present case study examined effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for a male participant who stuttered, and who worked in a car dealership. The intervention focused on a component of ACT that uses behavioral activation based on valued directions in order to improve the participant’s quality of life (QOL), rather than merely setting a treatment goal of stopping stuttering. To assess the participant’s quality of life, the frequency of behaviors based on his valued directions, such as favorite leisure activities, was counted. The results showed an increase in the frequency of leisure activities, and a decrease in the frequency of stuttering at work. These therapeutic gains were maintained at a 3-month follow-up. These findings suggest that ACT may have helped to (a) improve the participant’s QOL and (b) decrease the frequency of his stuttering, although his stopping stuttering was not the main purpose of the intervention.