The Voice is a Powerful Tool
For many of us, it is the primary modality we employ for communicating with others. Using our voice, we can socialize and express empathy and understanding. We can build mutually beneficial relationships and close emotional bonds. We can express our opinions and feelings at work and home, work through problems, and advocate for ourselves.
For some, however, their voice is not a source of strength, but a liability; an unreliable tool which leaves them feeling incredibly vulnerable and isolated. Anxiety, depression, and feelings of hopelessness can follow as their independence is wrested from them. In short:
Negative feelings about one's voice or communication can severely negatively impact one's one's quality of life across multiple settings.
To the person undergoing these hardships, relief may seem impossible at times. However! With the assistance of a skilled speech-language pathologist, many can make changes to their voicing habits and find a voice that serves them better.
Table of Contents
Prismatic Speech Services Can Help
Treatment Philosophy
Services Available Online
Flexible, Full-Time-Job-Friendly Hours
Quality of Life
Voice Therapy
Transgender Vocal Training
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Cost
Insurance
Total Sessions
Frequency of Sessions
State Licensure
In-Person Services
Prismatic Speech Services Can Help
"I highly recommend Prismatic Speech Services! Kevin is absolutely amazing and gives great feedback. There is homework and lots of practice, but totally worth it! I am 100% happy with my results. Thank you Prismatic Speech!" –Carmen, she/her
Using the latest techniques in evidence-based practice, Prismatic Speech Services' speech-language pathologist delivers online transgender vocal training and rehabilitative voice therapy to clients all across Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Treatment Philosophy
At Prismatic Speech Services, we believe that the most efficacious treatment is evidence-based, client-centered and approached with cultural humility. This means we recognize that the client is the expert when it comes to their cultural background and that we prioritize the client's wants and needs when creating goals and selecting methods of voice exploration. Our treatments are also evidence-based and are perpetually in a state of optimization and revision as newer research becomes available.
Services Available Online via Telepractice
"I loved that I could work with Prismatic Speech Services from home." -Isadora, she/her
Utilizing state-of-the-art software and hardware, Prismatic Speech Services can serve a much broader area than traditional voice clinics. When we opened in 2016, Prismatic Speech Services could only serve the residents of North Carolina; since this time, we have extended our licensure to cover Virginia, South Carolina, and most recently, Georgia! In doing so, we have removed location and travel time as barriers to receiving services.
Free Online Consultations Available!
Both the transgender community and people with disabilities are groups which are heavily discriminated against, taken advantage of, and are often in more financially unstable positions. We understand this unfortunate reality and want to ensure that a potential client feels confident when they schedule an initial assessment. To this end, Prismatic Speech Services offers free 30-minute consultations via webcam so potential clients can discuss their specific case with the clinician, and ask any questions they may have regarding the treatment process.
Flexible, Full-Time-Job-Friendly Hours
Our clinician sees clients until 8:00 pm Sunday through Wednesday, an offer many of our adult clients are relieved to hear. Evening slots are a limited commodity and thus hotly contested; however, once a client has a slot, it is theirs until they are discharged.
Potential Client Profile
Quality of Life
As discussed earlier, a significant indicator of whether or not someone is a good candidate for voice work is if their voice negatively impacts their quality of life. This is particularly true for voice therapy; that being said, there are many people who could use voice services and who do not know that this is an option. It is this intersection we must be vigilant and advocate for.
Voice Therapy Clients
Typical Healthy Voice: Coordinated, appropriate function of the respiratory system, larynx, and articulators.
Healthy voices have a clarity and power to thir quality. This comes from healthy vocal hygiene habits, and well-coordinated respiratory and phonation systems. The vast majority of people have perfectly healthy vocalization habits. If someone's voice has a quality you don't typically hear in an average speaker, they could possibly benefit from rehabilitative voice therapy. This atypical quality could be the result of a variety of factors: extensive talking required by their job; loud socialization in noisy environments; habits they developed due to socialization; the list goes on and on. To help break down the qualities a healthy voice will demonstrate versus a good potential candidate for voice therapy, check out the chart below:
Domains | Wait and See | Send to Me |
Vocal Fatigue | Occurs occasionally after intense vocalization. | Occurs regularly; strains voice in day-to-day usage. |
Breath Control | Speaks with appropriate balance of air support and vocal cord movement. | Frequently out of breath; overly breathy; hard to hear in loud areas. |
Resonance | Typical, healthy air flow and coordination of articulators. | Hypernasality, air leak out nose while speaking, "muffled" or "bad cold" vocal quality |
Volume | Aware and able to control volume level. | Excessive loudness or quietness; little or no awareness |
Quality of Life | "It doesn't bother me that much." | "Talking is too difficult." Associated feelings of hopelessness, anger, resignation. |
Transgender Vocal Training
Purpose: To help clients experiment with voice and communication to improve their quality of life and/or overcome voice dysphoria.
"My voice is triggering especially when I hear recordings of it. Hearing how I sound [makes me] feel like giving up."
-Shauna, she/her, before working with Prismatic Speech Services
Transgender and/or nonbinary clients who seek transgender vocal training are generally unsatisfied with either their voice and general communication habits, and are looking to explore alternative methods of communication.
A Non-Prescriptive Approach to Presentation
A complaint we've heard from clients who have left others' voice programs to work with Prismatic Speech Services is that many therapists or vocal coaches who offer this service use an impersonal and prescriptive approach to gender presentation and trans vocal training. At Prismatic Speech Services, we approach trans vocal training with a client-centric approach: we only target areas of voice and communication the client is unsatisfied with. There are many different ways to be a woman, a man, a nonbinary person, and it is not our place to tell a client how to present. We present our clients with a set of tools, from which they can pick and choose different elements to experiment with. From there, we build a presentation and voice that is functional and feels authentic to the individual, rather than checking off boxes on a checklist of gender markers.
Pitch
On average, how high or low one's voice is. Read More!
Intonation
How one's pitch changes along a sentence or utterance.
Resonance
How the energy of one's voice can be redirected to emphasize chest vibrations or head vibrations (article coming soon!)
Articulation
The length/shape of vowels, and the precision/intensity of the consonants.
Language
Experiment with phrasing, word choice, and sentence structure to convey different characteristics.
Nonverbals
An exploration of movement and sitting/standing posture; a broad category whch includes facial expressiveness, gait, gesturing, and many more traits.
Through experimentation with any and all of these aspects the client is interested in exploring, they can not only find a presentation that feels more authentic to who they are as an individual, but also allow themselves to get creative and playful with their voice, with the ultimate goal of repairing the relationship between the client and their voice.
Meet the Owner!
Hello!
Thank you so much for your interest in my business! My name is Kevin Dorman (they/them); I am a non-binary speech-language pathologist who thrives on the joy of watching others succeed. Specializing in transgender vocal training, and more broadly rehabilitative voice therapy, was my goal throughout my education. As I graduated and began working in the professional world, I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find a dearth of practitioners offering these services in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. I took it upon myself to fill this void and serve the populations I am most passionate about.
Using my background as a queer/trans person who has lived in the South all of my life, as well as my extensive training in speech-language pathology, stage acting, voice acting, singing, and public speaking, I synthesize my experiences and skills into a flexible, approachable method of working with clients from a variety of backgrounds.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How Expensive Are Your Services?
Sessions are 45-minutes long and $100 apiece. We've recently launched a scholarship fund, Find Your Light, which partially covers the cost of services for clients with restricted financial flexibility.
How Frequent Are Your Sessions?
The best outcomes have been seen in clients who begin at a weekly rate. If a client is interested but afford cannot this frequent treatment, they are encouraged to schedule a consultation so we can discuss the possibility of meeting every other week. Their progress will be understandably slower, and the adherence to their daily independent practice will be even more important for them.
Are You In-Network With Any Insurance Providers?
We are not currently accepting insurance; if a client is interested in seeking reimbursement from their insurance company, we are happy to provide a Superbill and help the client seek reimbursement for voice therapy or trans vocal training.
How Many Total Sessions is Typical?
The duration of services is dependent on many factors: the unique goals of the client; how closely the client follows the assigned homework; the client's vocal instruction/performance background; and many other aspects of what makes each client unique. Generally speaking, we aim for 10-12 sessions, with the understanding that some clients finish sooner and some finish later.
In Which States Are You Licensed?
Update 05/31/21: We are proud to announce that Prismatic Speech Services sessions are now available in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, New York, and New Jersey!
Do You Offer In-Person Services?
Not currently. If we start to accept in-person clients again, we will update this page!
Thank You For Reading!
I hope this page has been able to answer any and all questions you had about what I have to offer your clients! If you have any additional inquiries you are highly encouraged to email me; I would love to connect with you on a more individual level. I look forward to collaborating with you!