Hello! We are happy to meet you.

We are known as the Voice and Trauma Group (Voice and Trauma Research and Connection Group Inc.). We are a non-profit organization founded by specialists from different disciplines (psychology, voice pedagogy, speech language pathology, Vocal Psychotherapy and more).

We want to grow a platform for conversations on voice and trauma research, therapy practices, and advancements in this very young and important field. We want to keep compiling resources, stay updated with current work in the field and be a virtual portal for discussion and exchange of ideas.

ELISA MONTI

Elisa (President & Treasurer) is a voice-specialized experimental psychologist with a PhD from The New School for Social Research. Her concentration is the relationship between psychological trauma and different measures of voice. Her mission is to contribute to further our understanding of this relationship. Elisa collaborates with numerous scholars and scientists, including the Helou Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh, the Voice Study Centre, and New York Speech Pathology. Elisa is a certified Performance Wellness therapist trained in the Montello Method for Performance Wellness and in Vocal Psychotherapy (trained by Dr. Diane Austin).

Megan Durham

Megan Durham (Secretary), M.M., S.V.S., RYT 200, is a voice teacher, performer, and singing voice specialist located in Louisville, KY.  Megan is a certified practitioner in YogaVoice®, LifeForce Yoga®, and Transcending Sexual Trauma Through Yoga, and incorporates a trauma-informed approach to voice care.  She is a frequent clinician for choral and vocal groups throughout the country, as well as the National Association of Teachers of Singing, The Voice Foundation, and the American Choral Directors Association. Megan holds a Master of Music degree in voice pedagogy and performance from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of Richmond. She completed her certification in singing voice habilitation with Dr. Karen Wicklund at the Chicago Center for Professional Voice. Megan has served on the voice faculties of DeSales University, Lehigh University, Moravian College, and Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Voice Foundation, VASTA, Yoga Alliance, Performing Arts Medicine Association, and the International Association of Yoga Therapists.

HELEEN GROOTEN

Heleen is a speech therapist specialized in voice therapy for 40 years. Her interest in medically unexplained voice problems inspired her to study body oriented trauma therapies. In cooperation with the institute of Stephen Porges she is researching the effect of new therapies that regulate the autonomic nervous system. Her mission is to bring these insights in the world by giving lectures and workshops.

Emily Jaworski Koriath

Emily Jaworski Koriath (DMA, RYT-200) is Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she focuses on undergraduate voice lessons. In her private practice, she works with professionals and advanced students on healing emotional trauma to facilitate more authentic artistry. Prior to her appointment at UAB, she taught diction, vocal pedagogy, and conducted mainstage musicals at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. Her first book, on emotional intelligence in the voice studio is complete and awaiting publication, and she is at work compiling a volume on trauma and the voice. In addition to her ongoing research, she enjoys a thriving performing career as a professional soloist, with additional focus on electroacoustic music for voice, and the work of living composers. These Distances Between Us, recorded with her husband Tad Koriath, will be released by NAXOS in 2022. Dr. Koriath has completed all three levels of Somatic Voicework, The LoVetri Method, and is an advanced student of Somatic Experiencing, the trauma healing protocol developed by Peter Levine. She was a member of the NATS Intern Program in 2018, under the mentorship of Matt Edwards.

ALLISON REYNOLDS

Allison Reynolds, LCSW-R, LCAT, MT-BC received her Master of Arts in Music Therapy from New York University and her Master of Social Work from Hunter College. She is an Adjunct Faculty at NYU in the Music Therapy Master’s program. She maintains a private music psychotherapy practice in New York City, specializing in trauma work, including developmental/complex trauma. She is a certified Nordoff Robbins Music Therapist and an Austin Vocal Psychotherapist. She is currently training under Dr. Diane Austin as a trainer in the Vocal Psychotherapy approach. For the past 16 years, she has worked in various capacities with the HIV/AIDS population, as a music therapist, clinical social worker and as the Director of Behavioral Health at St. Mary’s Center in Harlem. Allison has facilitated workshops nationally and internationally.

Joyce Uiterwijk Winkel

Joyce Uiterwijk Winkel is a  speech therapist, specialized as a voice therapist (35 years). She works at the Maastricht University Medical Center and participates in the multidisciplinary laryngology team. She closely works together with the Drama School and  Conservatory of Maastricht. As a voice therapist, she has for a long time been interested in the effect of trauma on voice (breathing, muscle tension etc). She participated a study group on polyvagal theory and she studies several methods in experiential body work and body orientated  trauma therapy. In her private practice, she works with patients with medically unexplained (voice) problems and vocal professionals.

Geneva Mayne

Dr. Geneva Mayne, SLPD, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and a NCVS trained vocologist. She has over fifteen years of experience habilitating and rehabilitating communication skills throughout the lifespan.  Dr. Mayne recently completed doctoral studies at Kean University (2022), where her research interests included health and health care disparities in persons with communication disorders, psychosocial risk factors in patients with voice disorders and trauma-informed care. During her studies, she completed a clinical internship at the Lions Voice Clinic and a voice research internship at the Emory Voice Center. Dr. Mayne is founder and owner of Parts of Speech Therapy. She is also a writer at The Informed SLP and co-host of the Agentic Voice Podcast.

Erin Schmura

Erin Schmura (she/her/hers) is a SLP-MA second year student at the University of Pittsburgh with a Concentration in Voice. Schmura holds a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music from Carnegie Mellon University. Coming from a classical music career that involves an intimate relationship with the voice, Erin is passionate about the relationships between voice and identity, voice-mind pathways, and the relationship between the voice and trauma. Erin is a graduate student research assistant with Helou Laboratory where she has collaborated with exploring communicative congruence and communicative dysphoria, and listener perception. Erin is excited to begin her next chapter as a clinician whospecializes in working with populations with voice, upper airway, and swallowing. To learn more about Erin, check out www.erinschmura.com .

Kayla Toscano

Kayla (research associate) graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice with her Master of Art's degree in Forensic Psychology. She has a strong background in research and is particularly interested in further investigating Offender Profiling and Behavioral Linkage Analysis. She is currently a Clinical Forensic Specialist interviewing and providing victim advocacy to abused and maltreated children.

Andrew Watkins

Andrew (research associate) is a current graduate student at the New School for Social Research pursuing a Masters of Arts degree in Psychology with a concentration in Mental Health and Substance Abuse Counseling. At the New School, Andrew has worked as a research assistant for the Trauma and Affective Psychophysiology Lab. As a theater artist he has worked On and Off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally, contributing to TONY and OBIE award winning productions.