Positive Influence vs. Psychological Manipulation in the Voice Studio

Psychological manipulation is any attempt to control another person’s behavior. We’re all guilty of manipulation at one point or another, and most of us aren’t being malicious when we do it. Sometimes we even think we’re being helpful or kind (hey there, codependency). Regardless of the intent, manipulation gradually erodes the manipulated person’s sense of […]

Practicing Basic Trauma Awareness in the Voice Lesson

At this strange time of living amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, most people are experiencing trauma. Trauma, generally, is experienced when someone is experiencing too much, too fast, or when someone’s needs cannot be sufficiently met. Those needs include health and well-being, food, shelter, water, sleep, clothes, financial security, emotional security, personal security, friendships, intimacy, and […]

Seven Coaching Roles in the Voice Studio

The first life coaching book I read was The Mindful Coach by Doug Silsbee, creator of Presence Based Coaching®, an ICF Accredited Coach Training Program. (Sadly, Silsbee passed away in 2018, but the program continues.) The Mindful Coach provides detailed explanations and discussion of seven “Voices” that Silsbee believed a coach should be alternating between […]

Rigid, Diffuse, and Flexible: Three Types of Psychological Boundaries in the Voice Studio

Here’s how psychologists John and Linda Friel introduce psychological boundaries: “Each individual human being should have a clearly defined boundary around himself/herself, which is like a psychological fence around us, defined by us. This individual boundary lets certain things into our lives and keeps certain things out of our lives.” Drs. Friel outline three types of personal boundaries that […]

Motivation from Mentors

I recently finished a book called Getting There: A Book of Mentors, which I found on Brain Pickings. In the book, some of the most accomplished people in a wide variety of fields share their personal journey to success. I’ve read many self-help books about goal setting and getting through creative blocks, but there was something really special about […]