“After working as a singer, actress, and international singer in hotels and various places, I focused on teaching. I realized that my career and the lives of my students were obstructed, however not by singing technique – that was the straightforward bit. I spent nine years coaching as a Transactional Analysis therapist (ongoing) specialising on an individual basis in posttraumatic stress psychotherapy with Babette Rothschild and different body psychotherapy technique

All my work has been tried and tested on myself and my loyal and fantastic students. My method is a holistic, no holds barred approach – a hybrid borne of my experience. I am keen on vocal health and feel we’ve become obsessed to a point of detriment where our understandings have become generic.

Singing and using your voice is a most powerful way to dropping, digesting, chewing, and spitting out life’s emotions and thoughts it provokes. Most of all it is an expression of a being – of creative thinking. Brave voice users unite and make themselves available to share the good, the bad and the ugly which life throws our way.

This talk is tailored to the folks attending as much as possible; I vary off topic when questions are asked but I need interaction to explain what I do not set up a situation of dictation. GIve twenty minutes to examining my work. I welcome queries and open discussion.”

On the 6th August 2011 Dr Denise Borland gave the following talk on the ‘Psychology of Vocal Performance in the Edinburgh International Festival