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Voice Therapy

Background:

The voice is a necessary component in human lives: It is used, among other things, as a way of expressing a person’s opinions and feelings as well as a means of communication with the environment. Therefore people can at times be in great distress if they feel their voice cannot express what is going on inside them. In the modern society we often feel obliged to express ourselves according to acceptable civilized norms, and as a consequence a gap is created between our ‘vocal persona’, which we present before others, and the authentic voices which are suppressed within us. It may be that we are exposed to situations which evoke within us emotions of anger, frustration, envy or tension, yet we feel unsure of expressing them fearing other people’s reactions.

In other cases, some people might have had their voice silenced for many years, and this oppression made them believe their voice and needs do not deserve being heard. If this is so, a person might seem nice and polite outwardly, yet inwardly he can unconsciously repress voices of painful emotions, looking in vain for expression.

In addition, people who have experienced trauma of any kind, such as a severe accident or mental or physical abuse, often report they have ‘lost their voice’. This can be explained by an unconscious mechanism that operates during or straight after the traumatic event, which suppresses the trauma and the voices of pain and fear embodied in it in order not to live through them anew. Still in spite of this defense mechanism, the feelings, voices and memories associated with the traumatic event do not just disappear, but re-emerge over and over again whether in dreams or by daily avoidance of situations which one perceives as anxiety-provoking. The result is a heavy blow to the person’s wellbeing and to his/her daily functioning.

The session:

The voice therapy sessions offer a safe, professional and supportive space where one can vocally process his/her emotional world by expressing feelings and exploring memories, distresses and hopes. Voice therapy can aid people who wish to improve their self-confidence or those who wish to acquire better self-awareness. It can also benefit people who suffer from organic speech impairment or those who have experienced trauma.

The method in practice is individual work tailored directly to the needs of each client and attuned to the processes he/she is undergoing during the treatment. The vocal approach I practice is based on a structured and containing session plan which also leaves room for spontaneity and for needs which arise on the spot.

The sessions allow a wide field for creative action and work through images, metaphors, movement, drama and song which encourage unconscious emotional contents to emerge to the surface in a safe an unthreatening environment. This type of voice work acknowledges that in order to give a full expression to their vocal potential, clients must first become acquainted with both their body and their inward world of creativity and imagination.

The work includes, among other things, nonverbal vocal expression, in order to allow space for free expression which is not tied with everyday language’s rationality. However each session also contains a dedicated time for verbal reflection, which allows contemplation and shared insights into processes the client has underwent during the session.

A session normally lasts 1 hour, and takes place on a weekly basis. The duration of the intervention varies and is adjusted to the individual needs of each client; nevertheless it would usually consist of preliminary 6 sessions, after which an evaluation will be made regarding further shared work.

Voice Lab Workshops

In addition to working as a voice therapist, I give special workshops in the use of voice to groups to enable them to become fully aware of the potential of their voice and exploit its richness. The approach I use for this purpose is derived from the principles of the ‘Sesame’ method, based on the belief that each person’s voice is a rich source of expression that can be exploited in a variety of ways. It is a patient and supportive method, not requiring any previous vocal training. In my workshops I emphasize creative vocal nonverbal expression, enabling the participants to exploit their own potential in this respect.

In the workshops we use images from the world of nature and from our everyday environment to challenge the participants to use their voice in a new and surprising way. Such use of voice enables us to free ourselves of the way we express ourselves routinely and takes us back to Jung’s ‘primary level of vocal expression’, to those spontaneous vocal sounds expressing authentically what we feel here and now, physically and emotionally.

The voice workshops deal, among other aspects, with the following skills:

• Listening to the voices of the other participants in the group.
• Breathing exercises, helping to calm down and to create self-awareness.
• Eliciting vocal expression through the use of images.
• Vocal improvisation exercises to liberate the voice.
• Vocal games.
• Techniques to expand the vocal range.
• Vocalized movement.
• Investigating vocal expression, using Jung’s archetypes.
• Chanting and singing.
• Toning.

The following are some of the aims of the workshops:

• To develop various creative ways of using the voice.
• To foster self-confidence to use the voice without inhibitions.
• To develop the ability to listen to other people’s voices.
• To expand the range of the vocal expression of feelings.
• To promote self-awareness of the body and of breathing.

Next Workshops:

Voice therapy according to the Sesame approach to dramatherapy, Synapses Center, Israel

Past Workshops:

The primal intelligence of vocal expression: freeing our authentic voice using the Sesame approach to dramatherapy, part of the 11th European Arts Therapies Conference, 21-24 September 2011, Lucca, Italy (ECArTE)

Ongoing voice sessions for dramatherapists

Voice Lab 1

Voice Lab 2

Voicing the back

Motion pictures

Voicing the elements

Forest Voices

Soundboxes

Breathe in, Voice out

Voicing the 'Other', part of Playing the Other conference

Be Voiced, Be Danced

To book a voice workshop, please contact me.

Articles

The Primal Voice of the ‘Shadow’ - Case Study

The Voice and the ‘Shadow’: How does the use of voice in Dramatherapy enable greater expression of ‘Shadow’ aspects of the psyche?

The Voice of Dramatherapy: Fragments of Voice Work with a Group of Dramatherapists according to the Sesame Approach

 

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