Meet Our New Clinician: Courtney
We are so pleased to welcome the newest SLP to our team at Toronto Adult Speech Clinic: Courtney Cain-Porter. Courtney brings with her years of experience collaborating on care plans and individualizing evidence-based practice to suit the needs of her clients. We sat down with Courtney to ask her a few questions about herself and her work. You can also read her bio and access her full CV here.
1. What made you choose a career as a speech-language pathologist?
I have always been interested in communication and the many forms it can take. I have a sibling who is neurodiverse and his communication development shaped a strong interest in and advocacy for supporting an individual's unique pace and processing when developing a communication system. Through music and vocal performance, my interest expanded into using a beautiful platform to connect with a variety of people. Being a naturally (and possibly frustratingly) curious person, understanding communication whether through spoken word, music and any other means became a keen interest and direction for me, leading to speech-language pathology.
2. How would you describe your therapeutic approach in three words
Listen with curiosity.
3. What is something that surprised you about speech therapy once you started working with clients?
It was incredible the flexibility it demanded when connecting with others, as graduate school tends to focus on validation through knowing the answers, as if development is finite; working with clients taught me that our job is taking the journey with our clients and that the answer is cumulative of their unique and ongoing experience.
4. What is one thing you wish people knew about what you do as a speech-language pathologist?
That it's not necessarily what the goal is that is the focus of our job, but what the goal will give the person seeking it, i.e., what will the person notice and experience differently in their lives if we can support them in moving toward their goal.
5. What do you do when you're not working as a speech-language pathologist?
I love listening to any funny podcasts, which I try to bring with me on a run. My family is also very important to me, and finding time to play with my kids. Finally, I love the ritual of coffee, whether it's sitting in a great little coffee shop doing a crossword, or pausing in my day to make a good cup of coffee with some of my coffee paraphernalia at home. That's what you get when you've worked in coffee shops for almost 10 years while trying to be a musician!
6. Do you have any special talents or hobbies that might surprise someone?
I (was) pretty good at basketball, but more so in my younger years! But I also am pretty good at making napkins into paper roses (again, likely through influence from working in a coffee shop for many years).
Courtney Cain-Porter warming up her voice backstage before a performance of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”