Practitioners' Biographies

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Directors of the IAVMT

Anne Brownell, MA, LMHC, VMTR

Anne is Director of VMTUSA and of the Foundation Training in Voice Movement Therapy: The Voice Unchained. After working for many years with pioneer dance therapist Norma Canner and noted clinician and author Penny Lewis, Anne's search for the vocal component for a movement oriented therapy led her to be the first American to study and qualify in VMT in London with founder Paul Newham. Subsequently, she taught with him and supervised students on both the English and American trainings.

Anne also acts as a consultant in schools for children experiencing developmental and language delays, conducts workshops and presents at conferences, and maintains a private practice with adults and children on Martha's Vineyard, MA. Prior experience includes working in Early Intervention programs; supervising graduate students of Dance Therapy on the therapeutic use of the voice; and conducting music and movement groups with Ms. Canner for formerly homeless and substance-abused people with AIDS.

Anne has performed classical and folk music at churches, festivals, schools, and elsewhere, and served as scriptwriter and executive producer for several films on the Expressive Therapies, including "A Time to Dance: The Life and Work of Norma Canner" and "Going to the Source: A Study of Group Process in the Natural World."

Eva Campbell-Haidl was born in Austria. She is an accomplished singer, songwriter and musician and has studied Jazz at the University of Performing Arts in Graz, Austria as well as at the Guildhall School for Music and Drama in London. She has performed many concerts in England, Austria and Germany.

Eva's search for authenticity as a human being, as a singer and a voice teacher, combined with her realisation of the interrelatedness of the voice and the nature of being human, led her to start the VMT training in America in 2004. She is now one of the four directors of the IAVMT and teaches as an assistent teacher on the foundation training in Voice Movement Therapy.

Eva has been working in her private practise as voice teacher and as someone who encourages people to express themselves through their voice, with beginners and professional singers of all ages for 15 years. She has been leading workshop for groups in VMT, gospel and world music in Austria and England and has worked with patients at the Jules Thorn Mental Health Day Care Centre in London.

Kelly Close received her Bachelor of Music Education in Studio Voice from Montana State University and her Master of Arts in Vocal Pedagogy from The Ohio State University. Kelly has completed her first experiential year of training as a Voice Movement Therapy practitioner and expects to become certified VMT practitioner sometime mid-year, 2006.

As a professional singer, Kelly has performed in classical, jazz, rock, and musical theater genres. She has performed as a soloist with the Bozeman Symphony and Intermountain Opera Company and wrote, co-produced, and performed in a multi-arts production, "In the Body of the Beast." She has also performed as a member of a women's comedy team, "Broad Comedy".

As a teacher, Kelly had a thriving music studio in the Bozeman area from 1993 – 2002. During her two years attending grad school at The Ohio State University, Kelly taught World Music, Applied Voice, and Vocal Pedagogy. Kelly is currently teaching private singing lessons as well working with individual and group "practice" VMT clients at her new studio in The Emerson Cultural Center. Her objective is to bring a more holistic approach to teaching voice which not only encompasses addressing the technical/physical, but also the emotional and psychological influences as well.

Caroline has been exploring vocal work and performance for 20 years within a broad range of musical and creative projects. She currently sings with Bristol-based band Popacatepetl and is also a songwriter, session vocalist, group facilitator and artist. She trained in Voice Movement Therapy with Paul Newham in London and became a qualified practitioner in 1999, then setting up thevoicepractice in Bristol.

She facilitates on-going groups in Creative and Expressive Voicework, teaching practical methods of freeing and learning to support the voice. These groups are designed to be fun but also to challenge our perceived limitations. They often have a focus on the playful but profound possibilities of improvisation. Her style of teaching is inclusive to beginners and to more advanced vocalists.

A background in movement, dance and particularly Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga (a breath focussed practice which she also teaches) inform her work. She is particularly interested in integration of mind and body - from the practical physicality of freeing the voice to the emotional freedom this allows as we learn to express ourselves with power and authenticity, from a place of being grounded and present.

Individual clients range from the vocally terrified through to professional singers, public speakers, actors, teachers, health workers and those with specific vocal or psychological issues relating to their voice.

Current and recent clients as a vocal coach and group facilitator include: Access to Music, Weston College, BPAC (Broadway Performing Arts Co) St. Christopher’s School, Music Services (Bristol City Council) and the Beehive Day Centre.

Melanie has been a professional singer/songwriter, recording artist, Band member, and touring musician for twenty years. For the last ten years she has been teaching singing while being engaged in an extensive, experiential research into the connections between vocal expression, movement and psychotherapeutic process.

She trained in Voice Movement Therapy in 1993 and assisted on subsequent trainings. As well as practising as a certificated Body Psychotherapist she now teaches singing to large groups, works with individuals from home and leads therapeutically based voice workshops around the country. She teaches voice and movement with The National Youth Theatre and The Circus Space and is currently running a twice-weekly singing class at The Hornimans Museum in London. She is teaching on the American VMT training.

Christine is a singer and writer who has performed in political musicals, toured the UK and Europe with theatre groups and bands, and recorded as a pop singer. She has taught on the Voice Movement Therapy training in London with Paul Newham, and is currently teaching on the Foundation Training in Voice Movement Therapy on Martha's Vineyard, MA, USA.

She also supervises practitioners and maintains a private practice, working with individuals and groups, in London, England. Prior to her VMT training, she qualified as an Assertiveness Training teacher and went on to study Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychotherapy. She worked for ten years with homeless people in Central London, after which she became a counselor, group facilitator, and day centre worker for the mental health organization MIND. Her current band is the acoustic duo, The Jealous Lovers.

Sheri Kershaw undertook the training with Paul in the class 1992/ 93 along with Bernadette O'Brian, Mary Law and Anne Brownell amongst others. She has been working in the music industry for over 25 years and is a singer songwriter, musician and performer, though currently she performs locally, specifically for her own pleasure. Sheri felt the need to explore further after completion of the training and has since trained in Gestalt with Joseph Zinker, completed her training at the Body Psychotherapy Centre in Cambridge which is affiliated with The Karuna institute and is a working psychotherapist in the last stages of applying for UKCP. She has also worked for 4 years in Authentic Movement with Linda Hartley, Authoress and trainer in Authentic Movement and Bodymind Centring. Sheri has also completed several trainings with Babette Rothchild in the art of working with Trauma.

These trainings have always complemented and expanded her work with Voice and the psychotherapeutic process of integration and transformation. She is a practising Buddhist.

Sheri works one to one from home in a specifically built practice room, runs occasional workshops and is currently teaching at a Performing Arts School.

Lena Måndotter, VMTR

Jenni has a Diploma in Voice Movement Therapy ( Royal Society of Arts) and is a Graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GGSM 1984). She is a composer, singer, pianist and guitarist. She has a large repertoire of her own music behind her - including two full length operas, two orchestral works, choral music and chamber music. She also writes songs which draw on her various vocal influences, and simple ballads. She has been working as a Voice Movement Therapist since 1993. She took a break in 1998 but began seeing clients again in 2004. Her work in VMT is informed by a long term interest in Buddhism, psychotherapy, Tai Chi, and visualisation. Vocally she has studied widely with world, jazz and contemporary musicians from many fields - including North Indian, Flamenco, Balinese, Mongolian, Contemporary Classical, Free Improvisers, Jazz and Folk. She brings a unique combination of skills to the session. She was the first person to practice VMT, in the field, after Paul Newham introduced the work in 1992.

Flutist, singer, pianist, therapist, Marie-Lynne Sauvé has been exploring the healing potential of the voice and the body for many years. As a musician, Marie-Lynne has sung with semi-professional choirs, teaches flute and piano and offers workshops in ear training. Where music and therapy meet, her experience includes vocal improvisation, chanting, overtoning and authentic movement.
She has studied music therapy through her bachelor of music program, and through her master’s degree, has written a thesis entitled “The Therapeutic Effects of Vocal Improvisation.” The training in Voice Movement Therapy brought these skills together and added to them. Her own journey through voice and body give her the experience of these tools as paths to well-being. It is this that she shares with others through her VMT work.

Lisa Thieke is a Licensed Professional Counselor who has been practicing psychotherapy since 1992; she recently completed the experiential year of the Foundation Training in Voice Movement Therapy. She also studied with the National Improvisational Theatre in NYC in the 1980’s.

Lisa is an artist-practitioner who sings and writes songs from her own experience. She currently sings in her band "What It Is" and has performed a variety of styles in various contexts including: rock, folk, jazz, salsa, classical, chant and prayer from the Hebrew tradition and Children’s Musical Theatre.

Natasha Badger

Natasha is an accomplished Flautist who achieved a Grade 6 certification with the Royal Conservatory of Music. She obtained her Bachelors of Commerce degree from the University of Victoria in 1998. In 1999 she was involved in a Motorcycle accident and broke both of her wrists.

After the accident Natasha discovered a passion for three things: Neuro Psychology, Tai Chi and Singing. At the University of Victoria she took a number of classes in neuro psychology, began taking private singing lessons and became a member of two choirs. When she moved to Vancouver in 2002 she began taking Tai Chi classes and was soon teaching her first class.

In 2003 Natasha began to study Voice Movement Therapy (VMT). VMT is a discipline that brought together all of Natasha’s passions. She completed the first year of the Foundation Training program in 2004. Currently she is working with practice clients and writing her thesis in order to complete the second year and become a registered Voice Movement Therapy Practitioner.

Trish is a singer, songwriter, and educator with over 25 years experience as a performer, animator and creative arts facilitator in Australia and overseas. She is presently completing studies in Voice Movement Therapy in Marthas Vineyard, and has a Dip Mus Ed from the NSW Conservatorium, Sydney. Trish is a Director for InterPlay Australia- a community arts based network and practice, and is a member of the premier Australian Gospel Choir- Café of the Gate of Salvation. She has published over 8 collections of original music. Trish has a passion for community a cappella singing, and offers workshops and retreats in voice, creativity, spirituality and body wisdom.

William C. Freeman, PhD, ADTR

William Charles Freeman, PhD, ADTR, (Academny of Dance Therapists Registered) who teaches on the VMT Foundation Training, is a movement therapist and consultant, specializing in work with children and adults with disabilities.

For over twenty-five years, he has designed, directed and facilitated professional development, parent education and direct service programs in movement therapy and the expressive arts. He maintains a practice with individuals with and without disabilities and provides consultative services and teaching for education, mental health and arts agencies. He conducts seminars for professionals and parents, and retreats for individiuals interested in personal growth and spiritual development through movement and the expressive arts.

He is the executive producer and writer of the videofilm, "You're Okay Right Where You Are: Expressive Movement in Education," is consulting minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Chester, Vermont, and is currently enrolled in the Graduate Theology and Pastoral Ministry Program of St. Michael's College.