Work with Melanie
If you're ready to absolutely love your voice, I'm so looking forward to working with you!
Don't Stop Believing!
Well, this is different.
What's missing from traditional voice therapy, you ask? Accountability, regular feedback, and often, consistency. That's why when you work with me, these things are baked right in.
Uh oh... what if I'm not ready?
Bring it ON! I'm beyond ready!
Assessment
This is where we gather all the data and determine together what path is going to get you to your goals. Regardless of whether you choose group or individual voice therapy, this step is super important, because the next step is setting individualized goals. And we can't get specific if we don't have data!
Goals
Next, I whip all your wishes into attainable weekly bites, manageable monthly goals, and quarterly big picture results to work towards. We'll achieve those through the following:
Location
Currently, I'm accepting new clients for online virtual therapy, otherwise known as telepractice. I use Zoom, a free-for-you-but-totally-awesome (and totally secure if you know how to set it up correctly) web-based program that we can use to do amazing work together from the comfort of, well, wherever you feel most comfortable!
Part of this decision to go all-virtual is guided by the College of Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists of Ontario's assertion that practice must continue to be done virtually whenever possible. And we can, so I do everything I need to in order to keep you safe. I've always had virtual clients on my roster; touring musicians, traveling executives, even folx on holidays need voice care while they are on the move. So I've had the systems in place for high quality virtual care for a while, so the transition to all-virtual didn't feel dramatic over here!
But honestly, a bigger part of the decision to go all virtual is that I think virtual voice work is amazing - and for the right candidate, virtual is even better than in person!!
I get it. That sounds utterly preposterous. And I'm willing to bet that if you're feeling like I am, you're stressed, overwhelmed, Zoomed out, and utterly OVER this pandemic, so you still have a ton of questions about how virtual could possibly be right for you.
Doing virtual sessions means two important things:
- We can always keep working together! No matter where you are in the world, no matter how isolated you feel, whether there's a pandemic or there just isn't a voice therapist who really gets you in your geographic area, here's the thing: if you're feeling up for the work, and if you have a computer, a video camera, and a microphone (even just one that is built in), we can do amazing things together!
- Video voice training is AWESOME! There are so many benefits to video sessions! You can wear your pyjamas, there's no travel time, you don't have to pay for transit... but also, they're an amazing way to tap into self-directed learning, where you get to dive deep and figure out what's actually making the work WORK. You have to learn to listen to your body much more closely as I guide you through the same process, but without learning to rely on me to make the change happen for you. I also get to see you in your natural environment, which can be hugely illuminating. Honestly, virtual work can be truly magical.
But I hear you. I really do. I hear that voice that's still asking "is this too good to be true?" So if you still have questions about how this could be the best thing you've ever done for yourself, you can always email me or fill out the contact form. I'd love to hear what I can do for you so you come out the other side of this isolating time absolutely shining. When the world starts spinning again, you'll be on the absolute top of your game and ready to crush you've been dreaming of doing!
Oh, and full disclosure, I take all my own voice lessons virtually, and I LOVE IT!
Fees
Questions?
I've made answers available to most of the common questions people have for me (insurance coverage, cancellation policy, referrals needed, etc) at melanietapson.com/faq.
For more details about working together, I encourage you to download a copy of the Policies and Procedures at melanietapson.com/policies.
And if you still have questions, don't hesitate to ask!
STEP 1: The Assessment
- a detailed understanding of your voice and your concern
- a full history that looks at possible medical, social, environmental, physiological, emotional, and other contributing factors
- a perceptual evaluation of your voice (what the sound of your voice reveals)
- an assessment of your breathing and posture
- for in-person sessions, a manual assessment of the muscles you use when you're speaking or singing; for virtual sessions, a guided body scan
- detailed analysis of recordings of your voice
STEP 2: The Goals
I'll help you formulate specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-sensitive goals to get you the vocal transformation you're dreaming of.
We'll use these goals to map out our plan and keep you on track!
STEP 2: The Plan
INDIVIDUAL 1:1 Voice Work
$190/week recommended 12 week commitment
- 45 min weekly one-to-one therapy sessions
- home "play"
- accountability tools
- individualized feedback
- eligible for insurance reimbursement
- 45 min weekly small group therapy sessions
- home "play"
- accountability tools
- individualized feedback
- eligible for insurance reimbursement
- PLUS real-time motivation and support from like-minded peers working on similar goals
- 30 min live (& recorded) weekly video tutorials
- home "play"
- accountability tools
- suggestions to help you personalize the exercises to your own goals
- eligible for insurance reimbursement (ask for details)
- content delivered on-demand - work at your own pace
- opportunities to join masterclasses where you can synthesize what you're learning
* There are some voice concerns that really only need a couple of sessions to get you pointed in the right direction; if you're feeling like that's you, we can discuss whether this might work best for you and your goals.
How do I get started?
Go ahead; just click the "book an assessment" button below to get started!