INTERDISCIPLINARY BOOT CAMP ON STUTTERING FOR SLPS: SPEECH + MENTAL HEALTH

How to provide holistic care by combining evidence-based practices from speech pathology and mental health. Presented by:

JULIA UNGER, PH.D., CCC-SLP

STEVE HOFF, PSY.D.

Dr. Steve Hoff is a licensed psychologist in MA, NY, and CT. He obtained his doctoral degree in Child/School Psychology from New York University. Prior to the Invivo Institute, he co-founded Barrington Psychology Inc. in Great Barrington, MA, a practice which specializes in child and adolescent mental health. Steve brings extensive experience in academia having spent a significant part of his career as a professor. He has published articles in the journals Psychology in the Schools, Perspectives, and in the National Association of School Psychologists’ monthly professional newspaper. He has presented internationally on the topic of youth mental health.

Presenter Disclosure: Dr. Hoff is a co-founder of the Invivo Institute Research Foundation. He receives a course stipend. 

Dr. Julia Unger is a bilingual, ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist (SLP) with licensure in several states as well as Germany. Julia holds international degrees including a graduate degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder and a Ph.D. from the University of Education Heidelberg in Germany. Julia has spent over a decade in higher education most recently serving at the rank of Associate Professor. In her faculty role, she has worked with hundreds of graduate students, providing clinical education, teaching graduate courses and guiding research projects. As a clinician, Julia has focused on providing evidence-based, holistic care for people who stutter for the majority of her career. She has presented her research at conferences globally and has published in the Journal of Fluency Disorders and the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology.

Presenter Disclosure: Dr. Unger is a co-founder of the Invivo Institute Research Foundation. She receives a course stipend.

Course Description

This online course is designed to help speech language pathologists learn how to incorporate critically needed mental health practices into their work with clients who stutter, from childhood to adulthood. This eight, one-hour-session series incorporates a review of the state of the art evidence underlying each therapeutic modality and offers course participants the opportunity to apply and discuss these approaches and strategies as relates to their own caseloads. For clients to achieve lasting change, skills learned in treatment must transfer to and be relevant in everyday life.

We believe this is essential for training practitioners as well. Our training presents current, evidence-based practices, and the opportunity to practice them in real-time with colleagues. Courses make time for real-life case vignettes and application questions. Attendees leave Invivo Boot Camp with ready to use skills that can be immediately incorporated into daily practice.

Clinical experience with stuttering is recommended but not required.

Eight session sequence, to be taken together or individually/stand-alone

Course Registration Link

Course Fee: $30 per session OR $200 for 8 course sequence

Session 1: An Interdisciplinary look at Stuttering Modification (SM) - Friday, Sept. 26, 2025 @ noon EST

Course description: This course is designed to help SLPs revisit the essential steps of SM, especially around secondary behaviors and psychological concepts. Participants will practice strategies aimed to minimize the impact of stuttering. Finally, participants will apply these interdisciplinary concepts integral to SM to their own caseloads  

Learning outcomes: 

  1. Describe the key features of the stuttering modification approach 

  2. Identify one psychological concept foundational to stuttering modification

  3. List one concrete strategy that can be applied to your own caseload as a result of this course

  • Time ordered agenda: 

    1. 5 min: Welcomes and Introductions

    2. 10 min: A review of the therapeutic stages of the stuttering modification approach

    3. 10 min: Secondary behaviors: how they develop and impact quality of life

    4. 10 min: Techniques to minimize secondary behaviors

    5. 5 min: Clinical case vignette

    6. 15 min: Application and discussion of discussed concepts 

    7. 5 min: Conclusions and wrap-up

  • ASHA CEUs: This session is available for 0.1 ASHA CEUs

  • Level: Intermediate

Target Audience/Prerequisites: This course is for SLPs currently working or interested in working with clients who stutter. Clinical experience with stuttering is recommended but not required. This is a live meeting utilizing the meeting platform Zoom. Participants are encouraged to keep their cameras on throughout the meeting to fully participate in the interactive, hands-on nature of this course.

Course Registration Link

Session 2: An Interdisciplinary look at Fluency Shaping - Friday, Oct. 3, 2025 @ noon EST

Course description: This online course is designed to help speech language pathologists revisit the essential steps of the fluency shaping approach. Specific emphasis will be placed on supplemental strategies such as mindfulness, which can greatly enhance the speech modification strategies emphasized by fluency shaping approaches. Participants will have the chance to practice interdisciplinary strategies that can support a holistic approach in conjunction with fluency shaping techniques.  Finally, participants will have the opportunity to apply and discuss these interdisciplinary concepts as pertains to their own caseloads. 

Clinical experience with stuttering is recommended but not required. This is a live meeting utilizing the meeting platform Zoom. Participants are encouraged to keep their cameras on throughout the meeting to fully participate in the interactive, hands-on nature of this course. 

  • Learning outcomes: 

    • Describe the key features of the fluency shaping approach 

    • Identify one psychological concept that can enhance the use of fluency shaping strategies

    • Explain and provide an example of how clinicians can utilize mindfulness in clinical practice. 

  • Time ordered agenda: 

    • 5 min: Welcomes and Introductions

    • 10 min: A review of the therapeutic stages of the fluency shaping approach

    • 15 min: Psychological strategies to supplement speech restructuring 

    • 5 min: Clinical case vignette

    • 20 min: Application and discussion of discussed concepts 

    • 5 min: Conclusions and wrap-up

  • ASHA CEUs: This session is available for 0.1 ASHA CEUs

Level: Intermediate

Course Registration Link

About the Invivo Institute Research Foundation continuing education offerings: We are clinicians from the world of speech pathology and clinical psychology who have joined forces to offer comprehensive interdisciplinary care. While we provide services to a wide range of complex communication disorders and differences, our focus and passion is working with people who stutter. Our continuing education mission is to provide fellow-clinicians with the tools they need to be most effective in our challenging work. Our unique approach reflects our belief that to effectively treat the person who stutters, clinicians must be equipped to support mental health, within their scope of practice.

Commitment to Accessibility for all Learners: We are committed to providing accessible learning to all participants, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Please contact us at info@invivoinstitute.org, or call us at (413) 854-1705 if you require accommodations. All requests for acommodations must be submitted at least 14 days prior to the course start date.

Refund/Cancellation Policy: Please send refund requests to info@invivoinstitute.org and include a stated reason for the request.

Course Completion Requirements:

1) Upon completion of the course, attendees will take a 5-question multiple choice post-test with a passing score of 100% required to receive course credit (quiz allows unlimited attempts). Learners will be given immediate access to the quiz following the course. The quiz must be completed within 72 hours of course completion.

2) Attendees must attend the entirety of the course (attendance will be tracked). Partial credit will not be available.

3) Due to the interactive nature our virtual courses, we expect all attendees to participate with their webcams on.

We look forward to seeing you at Boot Camp!