WORDSWELL VOICE FEMINISATION

Our therapists at Wordswell have successfully worked with several clients going through this transition, helping them clarify what kind of feminine voice they aspire to.

Female to male transsexuals take male hormones as part of their transition which enables them to go through puberty which automatically enlarges the larynx and lowers the voice. Feminising a voice for male to female transsexuals is not affected by the hormone treatment, and so can be difficult. Some people opt for surgery to reduce the size of the larynx. However, even if surgery is an option, it is strongly advised that speech, language and voice therapy is undertaken both before and after to ease the adjustment and avoid voice misuse. Therapy therefore involves a strong commitment on the part of both the therapist and the transsexual person. Wordswell's involvement with a transgender person maybe over a long period.

The starting point is a detailed initial assessment. The outcomes of therapy very much depend on how motivated the client is so we focus the first session on formulating well-formed outcomes which are realistic and achievable and how to know when those outcomes have been achieved. Our aim is to establish a good rapport with our clients so that they feel comfortable asking for advice and opinions.
Most of our work with this client group is actually in helping clients to generalise their voice skills into everyday voice. More often than not, this proves far harder for the person than acquiring the mechanical voice skills. Examples of successful outcomes might be to get called 'madam' in shops and at ticket counters or to be accepted as a woman on the telephone or on the radio. Communication is a combination of speech with appropriate body language. All Wordswell therapists have completed training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques with Vievolve which, together with our professional training, help us to develop a person's verbal communication skills, communicative intent, and non-verbal communication, including the use of gesture, posture and body language. Wordswell therapists can show clients how to adapt their body language to that appropriate to a female role.

These issues, although more indirect, are no less important than the sound of a person's voice and can help the persons overall passibility as female. Men and women pronounce and use words differently and so we describe these differences in detail to our clients and work through exercises to experience those differences. Some therapy may also focus on relaxation, breathing, use of language, volume and articulation. We also introduce voice pitch raising exercises, and work on resonance, intonation and prosody. These should always take place under professional supervision as permanent voice damage can result from incorrectly performed exercises. We also work on anchoring feelings of confidence in communicating. Telephone practice is an important aspect of treatment but generally takes place in the latter stages of therapy, as it is a harder skill to acquire and requires increased confidence. Home practice is essential to success.
Do contact us and come to the clinic for a free discussion of your situation and needs.