Frequency of stuttering is simply *one metric*. CBT can decrease anxiety and avoidance. *Meanwhile, anxiety and avoidance have been added to the diagnostic criteria. “For many people, this is what can disable them,” Maguire says. “They may have a high level of anxiety and they avoid certain speaking situations or certain words and they focus so much of the time around the avoidance and the anxiety. It’s really a key focus.”* https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/07-08/stuttering-dsm The barrier is your struggle to acknowledge that, for many, anxiety is both a cause and effect related to dysfluency. If that assertion, backed up by academics in the field and the most current diagnostic criteria, is not mature enough for you, then we should discontinue the discussion.