Willie Botterill is honoured by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Willie Botterill, the clinical manager of Whittington Health’s Michael Palin Centre in Islington, was recently awarded a Fellowship by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. This is utterly deserved and long overdue. Willie is a gifted clinician with almost 40 years experience working with people who stammer. She was involved in the establishment and development of the Centre and her influence on the research, teaching and clinical activities has meant that people who stammer in the UK have greater access to services that are effective, supportive and life-changing.

Willie has always sought to improve the therapy that she provides. She is open minded to new and alternative approaches, easily absorbing new concepts and ideas. Attending to strengths, noticing what is going well, assuming that goals will be achieved and believing and trusting the individual and the process, are principals that guide not only her therapy, but her approach to life.

Willie is innovative and pioneering in her approach to working with people who stammer and is confident and skilled at working with all ages. Her early experimentation using a video camera in work with parents led to the development of Palin Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Working with parents has been one of her most significant achievements and contributions to the field. Willie always understood the importance of early intervention, empowering parents and helping them to find their own way. Parents who have attended her two-week intensive course parents’ group report it to be life-changing. Therapists who work with her, SLTs and students who come to train and observe her on these courses, report the same.

Willie is a supportive colleague, a team player who brings humour, charm, positivity and creativity to all situations. There is no end to her energy, she never says ‘no’ and will help anyone who asks. Willie is a brilliant teacher, calm, encouraging and enthusiastic. She is always generous with her time, knowledge and skills, readily sharing her experience and ideas. Willie is an inspiration to those she treats, works alongside, supervises, supports and trains. Our warmest congratulations to you Willie!