The presented article has got two main aims. First of all, presentation of current way of understanding selective mutism (SM), second of all – the description of the patient’s therapy based on the cognitive-behavioral model. The main symptom of SM is selectivity of speaking, which applies to specific environments and treatment of SM. What is more, researchers dealing with SM still has not developed a coherent model of development and sustaining of this disorder. According to the latest DSM-5 classification, selective mutism was moved from category, disorders of childhood and adolescence” to subsection of “anxiety disorders”. The main aim of the implemented change was to emphasize the leading role of fear in rising and persistence of SM. The cognitive behavioral therapy of mutism is perceived as treatment by choice and to a great extent is related to overcoming child’s fear against speaking. Due to the limited number of studies, models of therapy based on case reports and the vast diversity of clinical pictures, a psychotherapist must adjust a standard model of cognitive behavioral therapy to a particular patient. Since most of the research is based on case studies, there is an urgent need for both treatment and checking efficacy of psychotherapy on a wider scale. Furthermore, the access to qualified therapists is limited nowadays, and a noticeable low awareness of the need to help (especially children) requires a decisive shift.

Angelika Listwan (MA) is a clinical psychologist and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist. She worked for 16 years at the Provincial Psychiatric Hospital for Children and Adolescents Provincial and Children’s Hospital in Torun (Poland). Presently she works at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun and runs private therapy office.