Mind Matters: Setting the Stage for Satisfying Clinical Service. A Personal Essay.

What we as audiologists and speech-language pathologists believe about ourselves, others, and the world around us influences our work at least as much as our knowledge of audiology and communication sciences and disorders, according to speech-language pathologist Ellen-Marie Silverman, Ph.D. A Fellow of the American Speech-Hearing-Language Association, she believes the more clearly we as practitioners perceive our personal core beliefs, which reside below the level of casual awareness, the more effective we can be meeting clients' and caregivers' concerns. In "Mind Matters," she introduces a simple, straight-forward method for identifying deeply held personal beliefs that, if undetected, could repeatedly sabotage clinical relationships. Then she describes five basic beliefs about working as a clinician that lead to highly skilled service. Examples and anecdotes drawn from her varied and extensive clinical and teaching experience showcase the value, ease, and challenges of applying these helpful beliefs to daily work in any environment. Dr. Silverman delivers this basic information in a mentor-friendly style to all intended readers, the student-in-training, the employed clinician, and the clinician planning to resume a career. The practical focus with which she addresses this rarely addressed yet critical aspect of clinical work, i.e., detecting personal core beliefs, makes "Mind Matters" a unique contribution to clinical preparation and development. Dr. Silverman reminds us that the relationship we as practitioners foster with clients and caregivers is our most important tool. Identifying personal core beliefs which form the infrastructure for professional relationships and selecting and cultivating beliefs that encourage maximal growth of clinical partners contributes greatly to experiencing a satisfying, effective, and long-lived career. This book will occupy a central place in your professional library. Dr. Silverman is also the author of "Mindfulness & Stuttering: Using Eastern Strategies to Speak with Greater Ease," "Relief From Stuttering: Laying the Groundwork to Speak with Greater Ease," and "Jason's Secret," a middle reader novel about a 10 year-old boy taking his first constructive steps to resolve his stuttering problem. ***Also available as a Kindle ebook.***