Supportive Training And Recovery For Individual Stammerer's Harmony

Starfish - is a project for training people who stammer (stutter) to both control and gain confidence over something that has controlled them. It is not about trying to achieve the impossible of so-called 'fluency' - when no one in life is fluent. It is not about striving for perfection in an imperfect world.

Our training combines compassion and care with proven successful methods of diaphragmatic retraining, avoidance reduction therapy and positive attitude development.

Whilst our training is intensive and hard work, we are ever mindful of the individuality of each stammerer, and that their recovery from stammering will be at their own pace and in their own time. For this reason we restrict the number of people on a course, to ensure the maximum individual attention.

The Starfish Project brings together years of experience from working with other therapies. We have combined the best from the early pioneering work of these therapies, together with the experiences and lessons we have learned from helping in the recovery of hundreds of people from stammering.

Anne Blight

The Starfish Project founder, Anne has been working worldwide for and with stammerers for many years. She has successfully training hundreds of stammerers who now know the joy of being able to contol the stammer that controlled them for so long.

Starfish Project Training

Your Starfish training commences with a three-day intensive course (two nights residential). This will involve close structured training sessions, not only in learning the Starfish technique, but also positive attitude development and avoidance reduction therapy. Your training sessions are not just theory we will equip you for everyday situations, with enjoyable role play sessions like telephone work, ordering a drink in a pub or a meal in restaurant, addressing a group etc.

On a Starfish Project course- telephone technique session.

Although your training will be intensive we will regularly break during the day, and of course at lunchtime, to ensure you stay 'fresh'. We keep a training day to your maximum input level - not to your exhaustion point. Most training days start at 9 a.m. and finish between 5p.m. and 6 p.m. We want to train you not to break you!

Then moving on, at your own pace and in your own time , to working in shopping centres. This may seem like an incredible and impossible situation to you now (and one that many stammerers avoid if possible) but with our compassionate training this will become a situation and challenge that you will enjoy.

Your Starfish Project course will end by preparing you for your 'new' life and how to handle some of the possible complications and difficulties.

Continuous Support from

Your training does not end after the intensive course, for it is now that The Starfish Project ongoing care begins with lifetime support, which is so essential to your recovery.

Lifetime Support

• The Starfish nation-wide telephone support list, of other recovering stammerers, who are available by phone anytime to assist your recovery and help with anything you may encounter. 

• Together we will arrange a personalised programme for your continued recovery. This will involve meeting to practice and further training on shopping trips etc.

• Local Starfish support groups.

• You are always welcome to come back on any further courses without charge (you only pay for accommodation) to assist your recovery. This is an open offer to all students, but we do not insist on this - it's up to each individual. We do not place any pressure or rely on people coming on courses to train new people. However, if you would like to you can help in the training of others, this will enrich your experience and help in making a difference for other people who stammer.

The combination of your commitment to recovery from stammering and the ongoing care and follow up from everyone involved in The STARFISH Project will be the foundation of your future of fluency.

Recovery from stammering will not be easy, but nothing that's really worth it is easy, and after all stammering is much harder.

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