Description
Book SynopsisUsing Voice and Movement in Therapy is a practical and imaginative guide to the way in which physical movement and the expressive use of the voice can facilitate therapy. Paul Newham examines how massage, manipulation and dance, combined with vocal expression, can alleviate certain emotional, psychosomatic and psychological symptoms. His book provides practical support for non-clinical professionals, working as group leaders and facilitators, who aim to incorporate singing and vocal expression into their working method as a means to initiate social interaction and self-empowerment.
The author draws on his own professional experience to describe therapeutic techniques and exercises which he has found to be effective, illustrating these with case studies. In particular, he focuses on the benefits of voicework for use with some of the most frequently occurring emotional, psychological and psychosomatic difficulties experienced by people in expressive therapy.
This is the first of three volumes which will rectify the dearth of practical information on the therapeutic use of vocal expression within psychotherapy, arts therapies and group process. The three books will form an exploration of how singing and vocal sound-making can contribute to an artistically orientated psychotherapeutic process, and will be a source of inspiration for practitioners.
Trade ReviewBoth books certainly provide a wealth of interesting concepts, structured theoretical frameworks for considering movement and voicework, detailed descriptions of practical exercises and techniques and clear case studies. Readers need to be aware that Newham uses an eclectic mixture of physiological, psychological, mythological and artististic approaches in his work. Personally, I find this blend of scientific and artistic approaches to be innovative, erudite, stimulating and reassuring. Newham is a sincere and enormously able practitioner who has a unique abiliy to connect deeply linked aspects of personality and voice. Newham's books are of value to therapists already interested in the emotional release aspects of voice work with clients, and those beginning to investigate the whole field of psychotherapeutic literature. They fulfill his own goal "to be both theoretically informative and practically inspiring - there are parts of the voice movement methodology which theorists from other orientations can borrow from, adapt and utilise." -- Bulletin
Over the past 15 years, P. Newham has been developing a systematic methodology for using singing and vocalisation as a theraputic modality. Here he examines how massage, manipulation and dance, combined with vocal expression, can alleviate certain emotional, psychomatic and psychological symptoms. He describes therapeutic techniques and exercises which he has found to be effective, illustrating these with case studies. It's the first of a series of three volumes which concern the practical application of voice movement therapy. -- International Theatre Information
Table of ContentsIntroduction. Voice Movement Therapy - Towards an Integrated Model of Expressive Arts Therapy. 1. Spherical Space, Spherical Sound: Investigating the Environment of Inner and Outer Experience. 2. Convex and Concave: The Architecture and Acoustics of Motion and Emotion. 3. The Voice Tube: The Elementary Physical Principles of the Vocal Instrument. 4. Cycles of Sound and Movement: Structured Voice and Movement Techniques for Exploring the Self Beyond Words. 5. Pedestrian Movement, Pedestrian Sound: The Artistic Qualities Inherent in Natural Patterns of Sound and Movement. 6. The Language of the Breath: The Mechanics of Breathing and their Influence on Mind and Body. 7. Voicing the Troubled Mind: Catharsis, Creativity and Recovery. Notes. Appendix 1. The Voice Movement Therapy System of Vocal Analysis. Appendix 2. Further Information.
