PhD, CCC-SLP · Author · Researcher · Speaker · Clinician
A social communication researcher and specialist helping children and their families answer the question, "What is the child actually trying to tell us?"
How years of working with children and helping them express their story led to Dr. Rochel Lieberman’s WholeStory framework.
01 · Early Career
1998–2009
Dr. Rochel began her career in the classroom, teaching fourth grade. From there, she moved into the schools as a speech-language pathologist, working 1:1 with children. She taught speech-language fluency to students at every level, from preschools and early intervention centers to public schools and high schools. She was helping socially sensitive children express themselves. She was doing everything she was trained to do. Yet something was missing.
MILESTONES · B.S. Speech-Language Pathology, Touro College (2001) · M.A. Speech-Language Pathology, Lehman College, CUNY (2003) · Began clinical SLP career (2004)
It wasn’t the words the children were struggling with; they lacked the safety to use them.
02 · The Turning Point
2009
In 2009, Rochel opened her own practice, an approach based on wholesome communication that would eventually become the seeds of the WholeStory framework. She watched the same cycle play out in her sessions with children. They were struggling, their parents were exhausted, and the traditional toolkit of scripts, social rules, and behavior charts wasn't moving the needle. Scripts taught children what to say, but no one helped them understand why they felt the way they did, and no one gave parents the language to truly listen.
MILESTONES · Opened private practice (2009) · First invitations to give public talks (2011)
Speech pathology and mental health were operating in separate rooms. It was time to bridge them together.
03 · The PhD Years
2014–2020
Dr. Rochel Lieberman, knowing she was on to something, decided to put herself all in and go back to school. She pursued her doctorate at the University of Cincinnati while simultaneously running her practice, raising her family, and conducting research that would become the backbone of everything WholeStory stands for today. Her research explored how children use emotion and story to communicate. How the stories children tell and the ones they can't yet find words for determine whether they connect or shut down.
MILESTONES · Published Pearla and Her Unpredictably Perfect Day (2016) · Peer-reviewed research on emotion in storytelling (2019–2020) · PhD, Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Cincinnati (2020)
Dr. Rochel Lieberman built a framework from the ground up.
04 · The Framework
2020–2022
Story Emotion Social Therapy. Dr. Rochel Lieberman formalized what she had been seeing work in her practice for years. The WholeStory approach bridges speech-language pathology and mental health through the one thing every child already does naturally: tell stories. Scripts and checklists are not natural for children, and they don’t work for authentic, meaningful self-esteem-building communication. Dr. Rochel Lieberman wrote the framework and published it in a research Journal (titled "Interdisciplinary Healing Power of Words," Journal of Poetry Therapy, 35(3), 141-157, DOI: 10.1080/08893675.2022.2089689). In collaboration with Dr. Gary Dick, PhD, a social work professor with over 40 years of experience in psychosocial therapy, The framework was published in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at national ASHA conventions, and codified into SEST Fundamentals, a comprehensive therapist guide and curriculum.
MILESTONES · SEST research published in a peer-reviewed academic journal (2022) · SEST Fundamentals: Therapist Guide and Principal Curriculum (2024)
The WholeStory approach was born, and so was the guide to implementing it.
Rochel established her practice with the parents in mind; every child she sees, the parent comes for parallel parent education to support their socially sensitive child.
05 · The Reach
2022–2024
Dr. Rochel Lieberman began bringing the WholeStory framework to PTAs, synagogues, community centers, school conferences, and professional development days across the country. From Brooklyn to Seattle. She shared her research with over 48 organizations. She not only created the framework but also lived and delivered her findings with others as someone who had sat with the children, lived with the research, and built something that works.
Over 48 national organizations experienced the shift.
06 · Today
2025–Present
In 2025, the New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association recognized Dr. Lieberman with the Distinguished Clinician Award, the field's acknowledgment that the work is not just meaningful. It's groundbreaking. She continues to speak nationally, conducts research in collaboration with Emerson College, and runs parent support groups. Her WholeSeconds Microbook series for parents launched in late 2025
Bringing the WholeStory approach into every home and school.
Every child has a story that lives inside them. When we tell children what to do without ever hearing that inner story, we ask them to perform, and they don’t connect.
Support usually starts with the behavior. It rarely asks what the child felt, what they needed, and what story they were carrying into every social interaction.
Dr. Lieberman reversed that order.
That’s when the magic happens.
"If telling kids what to do worked, they'd already be doing it."
Hear their story
When a child can tell their WholeStory — what happened, what they wanted, what felt hard, and how they felt inside — everything shifts.
They come to be understood as a person, and they learn to navigate social sensitivities with confidence.
They learn the tools needed to become the productive adults they are meant to be.
At WholeStory Speech, the mission and vision are centered on the child, the parent, and the stories that shape how they connect.
At WholeStory Speech, we know the brain runs on stories. For sensitive children, the hidden stories they tell themselves can make it feel scary or forced to connect with others. Our WholeStory Method helps families take charge of these stories so children can lead with their minds, not just their feelings. Let's build these skills today so they don't have to struggle with social interactions as adults and build healthy, strong relationships.
A world where children understand themselves, parents trust their gut, families feel close and happy without needing a script. Where children grow into adults with the right social intelligence tools to succeed wherever life takes them.
New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
University of Cincinnati.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association — member since 2004.
Peer-reviewed journals including ASHA Special Interest Groups & Journal of Poetry Therapy.
SEST Fundamentals (2024), Pearla and Her Unpredictably Perfect Day (2016), WholeSeconds Microbook Series (2025).
Schools, PTAs, synagogues, professional conferences, and community events nationwide.
Collaboration with Emerson College, Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders.
Serving families across New York, California, and Florida.
Every session, talk, and resource is designed to deepen the bond between parent and child.
Children learn to find the words that are already inside them.
Parents are part of the framework and are supported every step of the way.
Children are heard and understood, and they learn to navigate social interactions on their own terms.
Every tool, framework, and talk is grounded in published research and lived clinical experience.
Every talk comes with practical downloads so the learning doesn't end when the event does.
Dr. Rochel Lieberman holds a PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Cincinnati, a Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from Lehman College (CUNY), and has been a certified, practicing SLP since 2004. She is the creator of Story Emotion Social Therapy (SEST) and the founder of WholeStory Speech, based in Brooklyn, NY.
Most social skills programs teach children what to do in social situations. WholeStory starts one step earlier by helping children understand why they feel the way they do, so they can respond authentically rather than by rote. Parents are active partners in the process, not waiting-room observers
The clinical practice is currently at capacity. The best way to access Dr. Lieberman’s work right now is through speaking events, the WholeSeconds parent resources, and the WholeStory books.
Absolutely. Many of the children she serves don’t carry a formal diagnosis. What they share is a sensitivity to the social world. They have big feelings, hard friendships, and a story that hasn’t been heard yet.
Yes! And this is where her work reaches the most families at once. Reach out with your event date, audience size, and goals. Her team will follow up to discuss details and availability.
Dr. Lieberman brings research, warmth, and real talk to every room she walks into.
Find out how she can support the families in yours.
