Stammering Therapy in London
Adult speech therapy to help you manage your stammer. Online speech therapy is also available!
Award-winning stammering therapy in London.
City Lit Speech Therapy is an international centre of excellence based in London. Our team of highly experienced specialist speech and language therapists lead a broad range of stammering therapy sessions, including intensive day-time sessions, and part-time evening/short stammering therapy workshops in Covent Garden, as well as a well providing a developed follow-up programme for ongoing support.
Running out of our centre of excellence in London. we have over 50 years’ experience in providing support for adults who stammer. Email us at speechtherapy@citylit.ac.uk to arrange an advisory session - this personal and free service will help you choose the right therapy for you.
Our approach
Our approach at City Lit is what is known as "stammering management" and is based on the work of two American speech and language therapists who also stammered, Charles Van Riper and Joseph Sheehan.
You enrol as students who engage in a process of learning. We believe that this encourages an active approach to change which is essential to successful stammering therapy.
Offering you the tools you need for long term change.
We believe it is important that you become your own therapist, so that by the end of a course they have a variety of tools for managing stammering.
Unlike some other stuttering therapy programmes, our therapy is not a 'quick fix'. Whilst it is possible to gain fluency relatively quickly, it is usually hard to maintain unless work is done also on the psychological aspects of stammering.
Addressing the psychological aspects of stuttering.
People who stammer often avoid speaking in a number of situations and often change words or swap sentences around in a bid to avoid stammering. As a rule, the more you avoid stammering, the more you fear it.
Stuttering behaviours may develop and change over time in an attempt to gain control of speech, but often this can result in increased tension-struggle.
Our approach to therapy is holistic and is designed to address all aspects of stammering - the feelings and attitudes as well as the speech - leading to more lasting change. We believe that trying to 'fight' your stammering is unhelpful and can be damaging in the long run.
Working on acceptance and openness leads to greater ease of speech.
Change is a process and takes time. Therapy is a partnership, but ultimately people only change by doing something different, not just by thinking or reading about it. Group therapy is often particularly beneficial.
Our Speech and Language Therapists
If you're looking for a speech therapist in London, our team of experienced Speech and Language Therapists have over 50 years’ experience in providing stammering therapy and support for adults who stammer or stutter. We offer a broad range of stammering therapy sessions delivered in small groups by qualified speech therapists. Learn more about our team below.
Carolyn Cheasman BSc (Hons) Reg MRCSLT
Carolyn has worked as a speech and language therapist with adults who stammer since 1979. She stammers herself and prior to training as a therapist attended an intensive course at City Lit which she describes as a 'life-changing event'. Carolyn has a particular interest in interiorised stammering. As part of her work she has undertaken considerable counselling training.
Vivien Grant-Jones
Vivien has been a part-time tutor for City Lit since 2009. In 2023 she gained the opportunity to be a Co-ordinating Tutor at City Lit. Vivien does not stammer herself but does experience cluttering (as part of her dyslexia). She has had a varied, diverse and creative career so far, the central thread being a personal and passionate pursuit to understand our individual and cultural relationship with fluency.
Anita McKiernan BSc, MSc, Dip Coaching, Dip Counselling Skills, MRCSLT, MASLTIP, HCPC Registered.
Anita is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist who joined City Lit as a part-time tutor in January 2019.
Anita works as an independent speech and language therapist with children, young people and adults with needs such as, Selective Mutism, Stammering, Voice Disorders, Autism and Speech and Language difficulties. She spent several years working in the NHS, in clinical, supervisory and leadership roles.
Rachel Everard BA (Hons) MSc Reg MRCSLT
Rachel has stammered herself since a very early age and originally came to City Lit as a client in the early 1990s. Her experience of therapy and meeting other people who stammer was a turning-point in her life. She decided to change career and train as a speech and language therapist, she became involved in the British Stammering Association and her personal identity changed as she began to accept herself as somebody who stammers.
Prior to joining the City Lit speech therapy team in 2001, Rachel worked as a speech and language therapist with children with a range of communication difficulties in community clinics, mainstream primary schools and at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children.
Contact us
For general enquiries please contact us on 020 4582 0419 or email us at speechtherapy@citylit.ac.uk
Email our team directly
Carolyn Cheasman
carolyn.cheasman@citylit.ac.uk
Vivien Grant-Jones
- Effective counselling skills for speech and language therapistsCourse start date: Wed 21 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Louise Hillyer, Anita McKiernan, Amy StewartDesigned for SLTs working with any client group, this interactive workshop will help you develop practical counselling skills. Topics include developing the therapeutic relationship, boundaries, ways of responding, paraphrasing, reflecting, questioning, immediacy, self disclosure and loss.Full fee £449.00 Senior fee £449.00 Concession £449.00 - The City Lit 7-day intensive course for adults who stammer
Course start date: Fri 6 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Learn strategies to help you speak more easily, work on becoming less sensitive and worried about stammering (also known as stuttering), reduce avoidance strategies and work towards saying what you want to say when you want to say it. This intensive course will enable you to make maximum progress in minimum time and will give you a solid foundation to continue to make positive changes following the course. It runs on these dates (Fri and Sat): June 6-7; June 20-21; July 4-5; July 25. We will also provide videoconferencing (Zoom) group support sessions dates tbc.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £195.00 Concession £56.00 - Acting workshop for people who stammer Course start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laura BaggaleyA fun one-day intensive encounter with the acting process. Increase your confidence and discover your potential in a safe and supportive environment with other people who stammer.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £41.00 Concession £12.00 - Introduction to mindfulness for speech and language therapists Course start date: Wed 11 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Carolyn Cheasman, Dh KarunaviraLearn the elements of mindfulness-based stress management and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Experience a range of mindfulness practices. Background theory is included and relevance for clients and therapist well-being benefits will be explored.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £229.00 Concession £229.00 - Speech and language therapy as a career Course start date: Thu 12 Jun 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vivien Grant-Jones, Corinne Moffatt-SantosInterested in becoming a speech and language therapist? This workshop covers training courses in the UK, what the job involves, career structure, pay and hints for a successful interview, plus the opportunity to meet clients.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £79.00 - Assertiveness for newly qualified speech and language therapists Course start date: Thu 19 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vivien Grant-JonesDevelop your personal effectiveness by learning and practising some key assertiveness skills that are highly relevant in a range of situations including: attending an interview, working with clients, communicating with your manager/supervisor and contributing to an MDT meeting.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £99.00 - Advancing your practice for speech and language therapists Course start date: Fri 25 Jul 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vivien Grant-JonesThis course is for speech and language therapists working with adults or young people who stammer wishing to develop their practice. It will provide opportunity to update your knowledge and learn from peers.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Embodied voice - stammeringCourse start date: Sat 13 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vivien Grant-Jones.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £34.00 Concession £10.00 - Working with adults who stammer: a course for speech and language therapists Course start date: Mon 13 Oct 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Carolyn Cheasman, Vivien Grant-JonesDesigned for speech and language therapists, this four-day interactive workshop will cover assessment and selection, stammering modification, interiorised stammering, cluttering, acquired stammering and an introduction to mindfulness. Opportunity to practise teaching techniques to clients included.
Note: this course runs on these days: October 13-15; and a final follow-up day on March 30..Full fee £599.00 Senior fee £599.00 Concession £599.00 - Public speaking for people who stammerCourse start date: Fri 27 Feb 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anita McKiernanPresenting information clearly and effectively is vital to getting your message or opinion across. This two-day workshop is about developing key presentation skills and confidence when speaking to a group of people, whether it’s giving a formal or impromptu presentation, contributing to a meeting or taking part in a discussion.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £16.00 - Open Stammering - Festive Sing!Course start date: Sat 6 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This December we will be having our first Open Stammering event here at City Lit. We would love you to come and join us for a Festive Sing! We are bringing together adults who stammer to participate in a scratch choir event.
City Lit fosters a stammer affirming environment. Stammering is welcomed in all its forms. We recognise the experience of stammering is individual. Our Open Stammering events are an opportunity to build connections and gain support in the stammering community through creative, collaborative endeavours.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £27.00 Concession £8.00 - Stammering - affirming shared world buildingCourse start date: Fri 30 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Samantha SimpsonFull fee £149.00 Senior fee £104.00 Concession £30.00 - Refresher workshop for people who stammerCourse start date: Fri 6 Feb 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Carolyn Cheasman, Vivien Grant-JonesFeeling a bit rusty when it comes to working on your stammering? If you have already completed some therapy either at City Lit or elsewhere, this workshop offers you the ideal opportunity to revise what you’ve learnt so far, practise your speech techniques and to become more open about, and desensitised to, stammering.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £48.00 Concession £14.00 - Counselling skills for recently qualified speech and language therapistsCourse start date: Wed 11 Feb 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vivien Grant-JonesDevelop and practise a range of essential core counselling skills to help you work with emotional issues you will encounter as an SLT. You will receive feedback and learn through experience and reflective practice. This course is suitable for recently qualified therapists as well as therapists in training.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £129.00 - Narrative therapy for speech and language therapistsCourse start date: Wed 18 Feb 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anita McKiernanThis workshop introduces you to the theory underpinning narrative ways of working. Learn about key narrative ideas and practices including: externalising, re authoring, listening for alternative storylines, and develop skills in narrative questioning. Relevant for therapists working with a range of client groups.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £149.00
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