ARTS® – a therapy approach that changes the way we look at stuttering

ARTS® (Avoidance Reduction Therapy for Stuttering) is a therapy approach developed by its author, Prof. Vivian Sisskin, over more than 30 years at the Sisskin Stuttering Center in the USA. It does not aim at “perfectly fluent” speech, but at free, comfortable and open communication.

Stuttering is not just about speech

What other people see are blocks and repetitions of sounds, syllables and even whole words. Some people also show secondary behaviours, such as various tics, sudden movements or jerks, sounds or noises, which distract attention or help the person get a difficult word out.

But inside every person who stutters there is an entire inner world that steers and shakes them from within.

That is why stuttering is often illustrated with an iceberg in the sea: the tip that shows above the water represents everything others can see, while the huge part below the surface holds all kinds of fears (fear of others’ reactions, fear of rejection, fear of loneliness, fear of not being good enough...), shame and hiding the stuttering, guilt, anger, rage, feelings of inferiority and helplessness, as well as avoiding speaking situations, avoiding “difficult” words, and all the effort and stress that accompany the person throughout life.

How stuttering becomes a problem

One of the ways it becomes a problem is through the use of various strategies to avoid stuttering. Over time, however, these strategies become an inseparable part of the stuttering itself. Speech difficulties are now accompanied by anxious patterns of behaviour. This is where ARTS® comes in.

What ARTS® does

ARTS® works on exactly the hidden part of the iceberg. Instead of hiding and suppressing, it teaches acceptance and openness: it reduces the resistance and struggle in speaking, frees people from fear and shame, and makes speaking without tension possible.

An evolution in stuttering therapy

A shift away from traditional techniques focused on achieving fluent speech towards a contemporary, humanistic approach: working on self-acceptance and integrating elements of cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness into work with clients.

Before and after – the effects of the ARTS® approach

What most often changes when, instead of fighting stuttering, a person learns openness and acceptance.

What is the ultimate goal

Effective, confident and comfortable communication. For professionals, it means building on existing approaches with new insights for long-term results.

For people who stutter, it is a simple and powerful goal: “To say what I want, when I want, comfortably and spontaneously.”

ARTS® helps parents of children who stutter to be a source of support, especially in the formative years, when stuttering can lead to withdrawal, depression and social anxiety. Parents are the best allies and complement the work professionals do with their children.

For people who stutter

Freedom from the mental burden of worrying about how others will react.
Developing the feeling “I stutter, and I matter”.
Connecting with other people; communication as a source of joy, not stress!

For parents

A child’s stuttering raises many questions and fears. Parents are a child’s most important support, and ARTS® encourages them to:

accept stuttering openly and without shame, so the child can experience it the same way;
show the child they care about what they say, not how they say it;
work with a professional and support that work at home.

Learn more

We brought ARTS® to Split in 2026, and you can read about that meeting on the archive page. Have a question about the approach or our work?