About My Life and Work
I have spent thirty years examining the way we find an authentic voice to communicate the essence of our inner Self.
In particular, I have examined in depth the way we voice the deepest and most inexplicable dimension of our intimate inner experience.
My work is now renowned, and I am privileged to be widely cited as a leading expert in the field of Voice Work generally, and a world authority on the relationship between inner and outer voice specifically.
My methods have had such widespread influence because of the universally applicable psycho-kinaesthetic approach to Voice Work that I have evolved.
Despite its broad use in many settings, this work draws upon a common foundation, whether your aim is to vocalise characterisations for a film, release the voice from restraint, or enhance your ability to attract positive attention from those to whom you speak.
The use of Voice Work skills may vary between different applications of vocal expression. However, the principles and practices of Voice Work come from a fundamental skill in the art and science of oral communication, which is applicable in every situation where vocal expression is essential.
At the heart of this art and science is the seemingly simple yet complex phenomenon of authenticity. Through the exploration of this phenomenon, many of those who work with me often find that it touches their deepest being.
For, my way of working is concerned with how we understand and give authentic expression to the world within, even when that realm seems indecipherable in its silence or cacophony.
Many artists work within this domain, and they share it with people facing psychological challenge, who are equally familiar with its terrain. Creativity and mentality intimately intertwine.
The single most significant discovery I have made through my entire life and work is that the compulsion to create and the urge to heal spring from the same source.
I have now evolved a comprehensive framework of principles and practices that help people excavate this source.
The framework has evolved organically over thirty years, and now comprises a coalition of creative and psychological tools that make extensive use of expressive arts to probe and illuminate the enigmatic nature of our human condition. These techniques have proven equally effective, whether you are seeking an expanded expressive repertoire, relief from the burden of duress, or the confidence to follow the voice of your inner call.
My expedition to understand those subtle nuances that define our unique character weaves along the undefined edges between distinct subjects.
I work on the brink of art and clinical intervention; upon the precipice of silent meditation and expressive arts; at the margins of science and speculation; and in the corridor that links public performance with private reflection.
I am also fearlessly familiar with the twilight passage between life and death, where I have met and witnessed deep pain and distress.
My research therefore crosses over traditional boundaries into many disciplines, including psychology, human communication, professional training, performing arts, cognitive science, and special education.
At the centre of my work is a comprehensive framework for working simultaneously with the inner and outer voice.
The equal attention that I have given to external acoustic expression, and inner psychological dynamics, is one reason why people from so many settings draw upon my framework of methods.
Within this framework, voice means not only the external acoustic sound that we use when engaging with others. It also means the internal cognitive and imaginal conversation that persists in a dialogue of continual communication between the various parts of our inward Self, which is composed of many characters.
When working with the internal voice, my work illuminates the nature of our inner dialogue, and how it shapes who we think we are.
When working with the external voice, I provide a systematic and methodological way to extend vocal range and dexterity.
This dual approach has provided invaluable tools for managers, barristers, mediators, performers, clinicians, coaches, and trainers worldwide and in diverse settings, from Hollywood to hospitals, from clinics to concert halls, from conferences to courts.
In my psychological work, I have helped many people turn periods of unexpected crisis or unwelcome distress into an opportunity for permanent positive change.
In my creative work, I have focused on facilitating artists in their quest to expand the boundaries of imaginative expression, so they may devise innovative original works.
My teachings have thereby been invaluable to the professional and personal development of thousands of participants across the world.
Across the span of my career, my work has continually expanded and deepened in complexity. Yet at all times, I have sought simply to be a compassionate companion to those in deep despair, and an imaginative catalyst for resourceful innovation.
My work has evolved from dedicated research and professional practice, but also from a personal journey with traumatic breaking points that taught me turbulent lessons.
Life began harshly; and early childhood was harrowing and bewildering. The man I called Dad was a hostile and terrifying alcoholic; and finding safe ways to be in his presence was an all-consuming task.
Soon after my eighteenth birthday, my Mother explained that this tyrannical Dad was not my Father. I was among the early generation of those born from artificial insemination by an anonymous donor. This knowledge highlighted a rudimentary lie that called into question the authenticity of my troubled history. Yet it also set me free to pursue and discover my real identity, and an authentic voice with which to express the person I sought to become.
Then, many years later, I became seriously sick as the petrifying Tsunami almost slaughtered me whilst travelling in South East Asia.
I was no stranger to the suffering of others, but now I witnessed the nature of true devastation and desolation on a scale previously unconsidered. I saw dwellings torn up from the earth, children maimed and separated forever from their parents, bodies and minds torn asunder, and all hope stripped from poverty-stricken lives.
Everything changed for me during this time: my life, my sense of Self, and my view of the world. For some years, I walked down a suicidal corridor from which I saw the inside of a hospital and the internal world of frail minds from a new perspective. In pursuit of recovery, I had to rediscover myself once again, and find the voice with which to express my recovered soul. I emerged with a visceral understanding of the journey many of us must make, from a paralysing precipice to a life of active authenticity.
Consequently, my experiential belief in what I do is more resolute than ever; and my drive to help others find and celebrate an authentic voice is indomitable.
