The sounds made by our voice are influenced by our inherent body structure.  A few of the physical factors that affect the sound of the voice are the thickness and length of the vocal folds, the size and flexibility of the throat, the position of the tongue and the support available from the abdominal musculature. 

The voice is further influenced by the emotional state of the person who is making the sound.  If the person is tense, their voice will reflect that tension through a tight, forced sound. If they are sad, their vocal quality will lack energy and the tone will be flat. If they are happy their voice is likely to be round and open and full. 

The psyche is intricately intertwined with the sound of the voice.  For instance, some people who are shy seldom speak loudly and so find themselves unable to be assertive when it is important to do so. Personality characteristics and vocal attributes are often self-perpetuating.  If a person is quiet and unable to speak up for herself, she may be ignored.  If she is ignored on a regular basis, she may become even more reticent and quieter and so on.  Furthermore, the person is hearing her own voice and her self-concept is affected by what she hears.  These examples are not meant to oversimplify the complexity of personality, but merely to illustrate the mutual influence the voice and psyche have on each other.   

Creative VoiceWork is based mainly upon the theoretical framework and process of Voice Movement Therapy (VMT).  VMT is an expressive arts therapy that focuses on working with voice and movement.  As a discipline, Voice Movement Therapy has one foot in the world of therapy and one foot in the world of creativity.  Part of the process of being creative is “finding one’s voice”.  Conversely, finding – and expanding – one’s voice can be the key of opening the door to the creative self.  For this reason, Creative VoiceWork is excellent for people who are artists.  Working with voice in this way can assist creative people to gain access to parts of the creative self that are normally unavailable to the conscious self.
 
Deborah Crane offers different options through Creative VoiceWork.  Deborah offers sessions to those who are interested in working on their voice, with or without the therapeutic component.  She offers individual and group sessions at locations in metropolitan Boston.  To find out more about group sessions that are currently available, visit the Events page of this website.  For more information or to schedule a session, email Deborah through this website, or call 978.952.2798.

If you are interested in learning more about Voice Movement Therapy, you can visit the website of the International Association for Voice Movement Therapy at www.iavmt.org.