Conclusion
In the final analysis, the group situation gives the stutterer what he most surely needs—a sense of belonging, an atmosphere of union and unity, a feeling of respect with others, a spirit of group acceptance and support, and finally a controlled environment where he is able to act out his symptom in the specific situation that he feels ordinarily provokes it.
As the stutterer slowly finds himself progressing toward self-realization, he will tend to discard his neurosis and all that it implies, including stuttering.
Whether group analysis in itself is of ultimate benefit to the problem of stuttering, or whether its greatest value may be to complement individual analysis, needs further research and study.
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Dominick A. Barbara, M.D., psychoanalyst-in-charge, Speech Department, Karen Horney Clinic, New York City; practicing psychoanalyst, member of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis, and fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is editor of the American Lecture Series in Communication and author ofStuttering, Your Speech Reveals Your Personality, The Art of Listening, andPsychological and Psychiatric Aspects of Speech and Hearing. Natalie Goldart, M.A., supervisor of case services, Karen Horney Clinic, New York City. Caroline Oram, M.S.W., caseworker, Karen Horney Clinic, New York City.
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Barbara, D.A., Goldart, N. & Oram, C. Group psychoanalysis with adult stutterers. Am J Psychoanal 21, 40–57 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01873446
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01873446