Ali Berquez
Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist
Trainer Biography
Do you have a specialism/ area of interest?
I work with clients who stammer throughout the age range. For many years I have been particularly interested in working with parents, thinking about the process of change, and drawing on the two main cognitive therapies I have trained in: CBT and SFBT – both of which remain core aspects of our work with clients who stammer. My research focus has been about expectations from therapy and perspectives of change; with presentations, webinars and discussion papers along the way about a range of topics including CBT with parents, desensitisation with parents, reconstruing relapse, SFBT with parents, perfectionism and training evaluation, SFBT and Clinical Supervision.
What courses do you teach?
Typically during the year I teach 3-day CBT, 2-day SFBT, 2-day Working Directly, 2-day Palin PCI and the 5-day Stuttering Foundation Eastern Workshop in Boston
Educational background, clinical experience, areas of expertise, approach. certifications or specializations that set you apart from other therapists?
I’m currently training with Place2Be on their BACP level 6 ‘Therapeutic Counselling Supervision’ training – an in-depth training about clinical supervision. I also recently qualified as a Cool Kids Anxiety Program Accredited provider with Macquarie University in Sydney. I have a BRIEF certificate in Solution Focused Practice and a PG Diploma in Cognitive Therapy from the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre.
Are they any publications (books, book chapters, journal articles etc) that you have authored or co-authored?
In 2024 I co-authored a book with Martha Jeffery: Solution Focused Brief Therapy with Children and Young People who Stammer and Their Parents. A practical guide from the Michael Palin Centre – this is all about using SFBT to support clients towards their best hopes.
What do you enjoy about working at the MPC?
This is a really dynamic and creative team, and we love what we do: our clients are a the heart of every decision and we work hard to be the best we can be and to support and empower the wider community of parents, carers, schools and SLT colleagues.
What’s your favourite resource?
It’s so hard to choose, but a personal favourite for Bibliotherapy with children is Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival – he writes such life-bringing books to support children’s mental health.
What’s your top tip?
Trust the process and go at the pace of your client.
What do you enjoy about teaching? (developing new content/including research/sharing..)
My main aim is to empower each participant to grown in confidence and knowledge about working with clients who stammer. I especially like witnessing their ‘light-bulb’ moments of personal growth and development.
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