The Singer’s Clinic

11/06/2026

🎤 Every Singer Deserves a Specialist… but where do we learn the skills to support them?

If you’re a Speech & Language Therapist working with singers (or thinking about it), our Working with Singers study day at the Trent Voice CEN on 26th June is one you won’t want to miss. (Details for booking on Eventbrite).

We’re joined by the brilliant Chris Johnson – a voice pedagogue whose influence reaches from major label artists to international research forums.

But what makes Chris such a valuable speaker for SLTs isn’t just his impressive CV, it’s his ability to bridge the worlds of science, singing, rehabilitation and real-world performance.

Chris currently serves on the affiliate board of the National Center for Voice and Speech, chaired by Ingo Titze, and has presented internationally for organisations including the Pan American Vocology Association, British Voice Association, National Association of Teachers of Singing, Vocology In Practice, and AOTOS.

As SLTs, we bring invaluable clinical reasoning, rehabilitation skills, counselling-informed communication and healthcare expertise. But singers don’t experience their voice in clinical silos. They experience it as performers, artists, workers and human beings.

Learning from experts like Chris helps us better understand the singer’s world, strengthens our collaborative working with singing teachers and vocal coaches, and ultimately helps us deliver more meaningful rehabilitation.

If you’ve ever felt curious about singing voice rehabilitation, wondered how your SLT skills fit into the wider rehabilitation team, or wanted greater confidence working with singers, I’d love to see you there.

🎶 Come and learn.
🎶 Come and ask questions.
🎶 Come and find your place in this fascinating area of voice practice.

Because every singer deserves a specialist.

VoiceTherapy ENTSLT WorkingWithSingers TrentVoiceCEN SLT VoiceCare SpeechTherapy

03/06/2026

I’d appreciate your thoughts! 💭

18/05/2026

14/05/2026

It’s been a pleasure to step out into the local community over the last few weeks and volunteer my time to chat with Year 6 students at local schools about their voices. Topics have included:

- How voices work 🗣️
- How everyone’s voice is unique 🫆
- What can go wrong 😖
- How to help poorly voices and to help keep voices healthy and strong day to day 💪

We’ve had lots of fun and giggles, and I hope the reach-out has helped some children to look after their voices long term.

24/04/2026

Fancy brushing up on practical skills? ✨Join us for an in-person study day for SLTs coming up in June! Hosted by Trent Voice Clinical Excellence Network. Sheffield, UK

Here’s a little about the brilliant …
‘West End leads, backing vocalists, major label artists and vocal coaches all put their trust in Chris to take good care of their instruments. Has even been awarded a gold disc for his input on commercial studio projects.

Chris currently sits on the affiliate board for the National Centre For Voice & Speech in US - a cutting edge voice research organisation chaired by Dr. Ingo Titze.

Chris also thoroughly enjoys the work he does with singing teachers all over the world. Through his training company TeachVoice.com and his ‘Evolve’ singing teacher development program, he helps coaches to up-skill and navigate the overwhelming amount of pedagogical options today.

He has presented on these pedagogical principles internationally at the Pan American Vocology Association, British Voice Association, National Association Of Teachers of Singing (NATS US), Vocology In Practice, AOTOS, and ANATS.

In compliment to coaching, Chris has trained in laryngeal manual therapies and studied extensively with scientists in vocal acoustics, physical and somatic therapy, and laryngology.

Through his popular podcast and blog, The Naked Vocalist, he has also had the opportunity to connect and share with many progressive voice researchers and pedagogues.

All this rests on a 15 years stint on the road as a professional performer, which allows Chris to understand the demands and pressure of a pro schedule on singers today.’

Join us! It’s going to be great event. 🎶

10/04/2026

After originally having trained in LSVT LOUD (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) in 2011, I’ve refreshed my certification every few years - a normal requirement of being an LSVT clinician.

The latest refresher was as uplifting and inspiring as ever! Particularly loved the Kindred Spirit feat. Leo Sayer ‘Think Loud’! Song which is freely available to use on LSVTGLOBAL YouTube. A fantastic, uplifting song for SLTs to signpost their clients to during a course of treatment for a motivational BOOST! 🎶

Definitely an ear worm!! 🐛 😎

Thankyou for sharing the song - my clients are LOVING IT. And of course, thankyou to and for creating the record! ❤️👏

19/01/2026

✨News✨ I’m very grateful to have been selected to begin a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) internship in the West Midlands today. A real privilege and an exciting opportunity to contribute to meaningful, evidence-based healthcare through research, learning, and collaboration. , ,

22/12/2025

As the year draws to a close, I just want to pause and say thank you. 🙏

Thank you to the clients who trusted me with their voices and their stories.

To colleagues and collaborators who continue to inspire, challenge and support me.

To friends and family who hold me steady behind the scenes.

And to this wider voice community - your openness, honesty and encouragement mean more than you know.

This year has been full of learning, growth, complexity, and care.

It’s reminded me again and again that voices don’t exist in isolation. They sit within bodies, nervous systems, lives, identities, and relationships.

As we look ahead to 2026, I’m doing so with hope and optimism.
🎄Hope for kinder conversations around voice health.
🎄Hope for continued better support for professional voice users.
🎄Hope for more compassion - for ourselves and for each other.

If this time of year feels heavy, or your voice has been struggling, please remember:
✨ you are not weak
✨ you are not failing
✨ and you are not alone

Support is here - whether you’re a performer, professional voice user, or simply someone needing guidance and reassurance.

Wishing you a gentle Christmas, and a New Year filled with steadier ground, restored voices, and renewed confidence. 💫

With love
Carrie 🎄✨

14/12/2025

This one’s for the therapists and singing teachers who:
• hold space for others all day
• carry responsibility for fragile voices and big emotions
• quietly question themselves when progress feels slow
• give compassion freely but struggle to offer it inward

Supporting voices is skilled, nuanced, emotionally demanding work.
There are no quick fixes. No instant wins.
Just listening, adapting, recalibrating - again and again.

And it’s also for the therapists who are quietly holding their own stuff too.

You show up.
You listen deeply.
You regulate rooms, nervous systems, voices, emotions.

And then you go home carrying:
• your own health worries
• family stress
• financial pressure
• self-doubt
• grief, change, or exhaustion
• the invisible weight of always being the steady one

If this week felt heavy…
If you left a session wondering “did I do enough?”…
If your own voice (literal or metaphorical) feels tired…

That doesn’t mean you’re failing.
It means you care.
And caring, done well, takes strength.

Gentle reminders:
✨ You don’t have to be perfect to be effective
✨ You don’t have to have all the answers to be valuable
✨ Your steadiness is the intervention more often than you realise

Therapists aren’t meant to hold everything alone.
SUPERVISION isn’t about fixing you -
it’s about giving your voice somewhere safe to land.

✨ A space to think out loud
✨ A space to process the emotional load
✨ A space to untangle clinical uncertainty and self-doubt
✨ A space where you are supported, not responsible

If this post found you on a heavy day, I see you.
And if you’re ready for a place to be held too,
supervision and mentoring are here: gently, confidentially, and without judgement.

Life is tough, darling.
And so are you. 💛

Message me or email [email protected] to find out more.

27/11/2025

✨ NeoBitesize: Finding a Voice ✨
Thursday 27th November | 13:00–14:00

We’re grateful to have been asked by Katy Parnell (B*H - Neonatal SLT) to join the West Midlands Perinatal Network for their NeoBitesize lunchtime session.

I’ll be speaking alongside Kate Stephenson (ENT) to present ‘Finding a Voice: Long-Term Voice Outcomes in Premature Infants’ for the West Midlands NeoBitesize series 💙

This free virtual session will explore what happens to the very first sounds our premature babies make, and how early airway experiences shape long-term communication.

👶 We’ll be covering:
🔹 An overview of the Birmingham Women’s & Children’s Voice Service
🔹 How the neonatal upper airway develops and produces voice
🔹 The impact of prematurity and airway interventions on vocal outcomes
🔹 When to consider ENT or surgical involvement
🔹 The child and family experience (what voice differences mean day-to-day)
🔹 Therapy pathways and long-term support into childhood
🔹 Key practical takeaways for neonatal teams

Whether you’re a neonatal nurse, AHP, doctor, or part of the wider MDT, this session is for you.
Let’s make sure every baby is given the best chance to find their voice. 💛