As voice coaches and singing teachers we are often reminded and acutely aware of ‘staying in our lane’ and whilst its fully appreciated and respected that vocal coaches and singing teachers are not (unless previously trained) psychotherapists or trauma specialists, this doesn’t mean that we won’t come across students, clients, choir members, performers or colleagues who are in the throes of a trauma response during our work together. The voice is an emotional tool and we can’t escape the fact that trauma is something that affects the voice, the learner, the performer, the human.
So, in today’s podcast, we are going to begin to discuss what it means to be “trauma-informed” in relation to voice use and our voice and rehearsal studios.
We’ll be discussing mental health and trauma-related factors in professional singers whilst we also considering the prevalence and impact of trauma, exploring ways for voice professionals and voice users to embody a trauma-informed approach - so that we can start to understand what feeling comfortable and confident in own roles and scopes of work might look like if were to become ‘trauma informed’.
My guest, Dr. Elisa Monti is a voice-specialized experimental psychologist with a PhD from The New School for Social Research.
Elisa is a certified Performance Wellness Therapist trained in the Montello Method for Performance Wellness and in Vocal Psychotherapy.
Her focus is the relationship between psychological trauma and different measures of voice. Her mission being to contribute to furthering our understanding of this relationship.
Elisa is a co-founder of the Voice and Trauma Research & Connection Group and she is also a co-Founder of Monti Bianchi Performance Wellness.
Recommended Further Reading & Training
In the VocalScope Book Club we read The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma By Bessel van der Kolk.
The Voice Study Centre is now offering an online Trauma-Informed Voice Professional (Level 4 Course) which Dr.Elisa Monti is leading https://voicestudycentre.com/trauma-informed-voice-professional-level-4-qualification-course/
Elisa's Websites: www.voiceandtrauma.com
https://voicestudycentre.com/trauma-informed-voice-professional-level-4-qualification-course/
Elisa's Social Media:
https://www.instagram.com/voice.and.trauma/
https://www.instagram.com/monti_bianchi_pw/
https://www.instagram.com/performancewellnessinc/
VOICE CHOICE Listen to Elisa’s favourite 'Simone Simons' from Epica singing Unleashed on the VocalScope Podcast Guests Playlist on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4pjclKQVRnnUnMW0vgu0H0?si=8380f4264b42464e
VOCALSCOPE BOOK CLUB - Join the VocalScope Book Club: https://vocalscope.ac-page.com/book-club-sign-up
VOCALSCOPE Linktree: https://linktr.ee/vocalscope
VOCALSCOPE Socials: @vocalscope