The McGuire Method

Disclaimer: I do not have personal experience of the McGuire programnme. The text beneath is based on what I have read on the internet and through talking to people whom know something about the programme.

What does the McGuire Programme do?

The McGuire Programme tends to polarise opinion. Some people have found it very useful and recommend it enthusiastically; others have report having having had a less positive experience, and often cuts ties with the programme.

The McGuire programme advertises itself as an extended hierarchical programme. Once you join, your membership is lifetime. As time goes by you may move up the hierarchy to become an instructor or a coach and start helping people who are newer to the programme, aiding your own recovery at the same time. There is a fee to join, but it does not seem extortionate in the context of lifetime member privilges. Members are assigned a personal coach and are free to attend support group meetings, as well as attending the extensive residential courses which form the crux of the programme. Membership is international and the entitlements of membership seem to travel with the member should they relocate to a location where the programme is organised.

There is some unusual terminology used. Reference is made to the sport of speaking and the aim of the programme is to produce eloquent speakers rather than just curing the stutter. This is a noble aspiration and one I personally would aspire to myself. Members seem to be encouraged to join public speaking groups like Toastmasters, and to utilise any opportinity to develop their speaking skills, thus overcoming the fear they may have previously experienced when having to speak.

The programme seems to use a variety of different methodologies including voluntary stuttering. A particular emphasis is placed on breathing, which some people find a bit off-putting. Followers of the programme utilise a exagerrated method called costal breathing, which emphasises the use of the diaphragm.

One of the more controversial elements of the programme is street work, where participants approach strangers on the streets and introduce themselves, or stand up in a public place and make a speech about their stuttering in a speakers' corner scenario. Many so-called fluent people would also find such exercises extremely uncomfortable. The belligerent attitude that is often required for such activities could be interpreted as hostile by the audience and there is potential for a negative outcome.

The programme seems to emphasise discipline and rigidity, and participants are expected to work hard in order to achieve results. Adherents are closely monitored and may be accused of backsliding if it is felt they are not putting in enough effort. This may require a certain mindset, and personalities unused to dogma or acting obediently to instruction may find the whole process very difficult to tolerate. You will also probably need to have reached a stage where your stuttering has become a major issue for you in your life (so you will be willing to put up with all the uncomfortable aspects of the programme).

The programme does raise some interesting questions about what the stutterer needs to do to regulate his or her speech. However, individuals will have to make up their own minds as to whether everything included in the programme is in fact necessary and whether they are willing to surrender their will (to a certain extent) and to trust in the validity of the programme.

The program actively markets itself and has come to prominence in the media through documentaries on participants such as Gareth Gates. The McGuire programme has an international portal website at www.mcguireprogramme.com.