This presentation highlights a novel therapy practice of providing vocal treatment to transgender clients. Based on findings from therapy sessions, this presentation will showcase results of therapy, the client’s evolving perception of desired vocal traits, and education on effective diagnosis and treatment.

In the Fall of 2023, the client came to the Oklahoma State Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic with concerns regarding her voice not matching her gender identity. Upon evaluation, the client was diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia, a voice disturbance caused by abnormal muscle activity in the absence of structural or neurological abnormalities. Ultimately, the client sought to alter her vocal pitch, resonance, and inflection to complement her gender identity. In doing so, the clinicians hoped to guide the client towards greater acceptance of her voice.

At the onset of therapy, the clinicians provided a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) survey to determine the client’s current perceptions of her habitual voice along with her ideal voice. Upon reviewing the results, the clinicians formulated structured activities to target various vocal parameters including decreasing the rate of speech, increasing the use of adjectives and adverbs, and increasing vocal pitch within utterances. Although the client understood what she hoped to achieve with her other goals, she struggled to vocalize her preferred tone. As a result, the clinicians provided the client with various examples such as modeling and vocal traits of female characters in film to assist the client in developing a better understanding of her ideal feminine voice. By the final session, the client exhibited ultimate success by having her ideal voice perspective align with her habitual voice perspective while her actual voice made little to no change. Essentially, two theories of thought served as the foundation for therapy. Namely, altering the actual voice to the measurement desired as well as educating the client and developing her vocal perception. In sharing our findings with other professionals, we hope to shed light on the importance of not only treating the voice but also perception of the voice which may yield better, quicker positive outcomes.