The human voice as a source of self-expression and self-inquiry: case study

Abstract

In this article a brief history of vocal practices in psychotherapy, a model of types of vocalizations and their empirical research in self-expression and self-inquiry are introduced. The participants of this research were divided into two groups. In one group they were offered to express themselves with sounds of their voices in the situation of unconditional positive regard (this group was called the expressive group). In the other group they were offered to sound in the situation of evaluation (this group was called the impressive group). Participants who chose to work in the impressive group wanted to develop their voices, their public and acting abilities. Participants who chose working in the expressive group wanted to learn more about themselves, express and live through their experience with the sounds of their voices (vocalizations). The results of this investigation were analyzed. Participants from the impressive group were struggling with their inner tensions and gradually freed their voices. They payed a lot of attension to the strategies of their performing. During the first sessions their vocalizations were rather monotonous, but they became more and more various by the time of the last research sessions and the participants felt more confident by the end of the research. It was important for them to know what their research partners think about their vocalizing and compare it with vocalizing of each other. The listeners perceived their vocalizations as a little performance. Participants from the expressive group inquired and lived through their emotions and experience with their voices. Their voices sounded very freely. They expressed a big variety of emotions and feelings. Participants dove into their experience with the help of their voices very deeply. They discovered and worked through their body tensions while vocalizing and getting the feedback. Most participants from this group reported inability to verbalize their experience witch appeared during vocalizing. Their vocalizations were various and very much full-filled with their emotions and feelings. During vocalizing participants experienced a growing sensation of their strength and inner freedom.