The author presents a new approach to the therapy of stuttering. Instead of accepting stuttering and trying to make it more fluent, he prefers to motivate a patient to effectively battle the condition. This book presents a theoretical basis for such an approach and offers diagnostic tools, including normalised and standardised scales as well as questionnaires for examining patients with stuttering in different age groups. While guest authors review research on the effects of pharmacotherapy, which is regarded as controversial by many, the author focuses on discussing the approach and achievements of Central and Eastern European therapists which have not been heard of in the USA and Western European countries. He supports systemic therapy which affects all the basic stuttering factors (ie: speech disfluency, logophobia, muscle tension and interpersonal communication in a comprehensive way). Speech disfluency is not regarded as a problem, but merely as an obstacle on the way to accomplish a patients personal goals. The author presents particular methods for solving the problems of patients with stuttering and considers motivation to therapy important, though it is reduced due to the acceptance of the disorder. Although he supports using natural speech in the course of therapy, he does not reject other techniques. On the contrary, the author believes that therapeutic methods should be adjusted to the needs and abilities of a patient instead of forcing said patient to use a method simply because it is universal. The author believes therapies are subjective to the patient in question. Additionally, the author is optimistic and encourages both therapists and patients to share his optimism as well.

Terms such as shyness, logophobia and mutism overlap, and boundaries between them are unfixed and blurred. Until now they have, for the most part, been described separately; in our book, we point out the relationship among them. There are many individuals who are shy, and some of them experience communication anxiety, which is present with individuals diagnosed with mutism. It is easier to understand mutism when shyness and logophobia have been explained first. Such an approach has influenced the structure of our monograph. We begin this treatise with the definition of shyness and an attempt to distinguish it from similar phenomena, which is not an easy task. The task resembles forcing one's way through a densely tangled underbrush of terminology. We focus on the development of shyness, especially in children, and on the social and communicative functioning of shy individuals. We also wonder if, and to what extent, shyness can constitute a criterion for diagnosis of mental disorders. In our monograph, we recall the old definition of logophobia because of its relevance and high usability. We describe it in the context of similar emotions, such as social anxiety, communication anxiety and stage fright and make an attempt to systematize these definitions. We also present our own concept of logophobia being an important element of voice and speech disorders (aphasia, psychogenic aphonia, stuttering). The fundamental part of our monograph concerns mutism. We start from an analysis of the nature and role of its basic symptom, which is muteness. We draw on the opinions of representatives of different fields, who have still not decided which is gold and which is silver: silence or speech. Both phenomena occur in different combinations in selective mutism, about which is decidedly more written than about total mutism. It is to be kept in mind that the latter type of disorder does also occur. We are nonetheless focusing on selective mutism, which comes in distinctive types (situational, anxiety-based, traumatic, oppositional). We provide an overview of various treatment strategies (behavioral approach, behavioral-cognitive approach, family approach, pharmacological approach, mixed approach) and we present our own therapeutic method. It is adjusted to the type of selective mutism and implemented in different conditions (office, therapeutic facility, a child's family home, kindergarten, school). We also present a model for evaluating therapy effectiveness of mutism and summarize the results of research conducted in this field up to the present time. The monograph closes with a presentation of case studies of selective mutism prepared by Polish therapists.

The publication begins with a long interview with a PWS, which is a unique way of introducing the systems approach to the psychosomatics of stuttering. Various aspects of the approach are presented in four chapters, each ending with a bibliography. Chapter One, which is entitled Stuttering from the Psychosomatic Perspective discusses the new approach to this speech disorder and its consequences for the diagnostic and therapeutic process. Stuttering is regarded as more than just a speech fluency disorder, but is also regarded as a psychosomatic disorder, and treating its chronic form as a disease can be justified. Chapter Two, called Inspirations explores the relationships between communicative stress, increased muscle tension and changeability of stuttering. This is a fundamental issue that most theories fail to explain. Furthermore, the chapter contrasts early childhood stuttering with selective mutism in order to present similarities and differences between the two disorders. The author attempts to explain why stuttering is more common among boys and selective mutism among girls. Chapter Three The Authors Own Research offers results of many years of research on stuttering in preschool, school and adult age, along with an in-depth discussion of these. The results have been summarised in the form of a model of stuttering from the systems perspective. Chapter Four, called Systems Therapy of Stuttering refers to the previous chapters and presents the authors therapeutic approach to early childhood stuttering, school age stuttering and chronic stuttering, which are different from one another. The chapter also discusses currently used methods of therapy.