Psychogenic Voice Disorders and Cognitive-behaviour Therapy

Increasing international interest in voice disorders during the past decade has given rise to a greater understanding of the voice and an expansion of the literature on the subject. But although most authors on psychogenic voice disorders recognise that there are psychological causes that need to be addressed in conjunction with voice therapy, there is little published material describing therapeutic programmes for psychogenic voice disorders. Combining their skills in voice therapy and clinical psychology, the authors of this book explore the use of psychological intervention with patients whose psychogenic voice disorders do not respond to traditional approaches. The authors have identified a particular need for practitioners to have an understanding of cognitive-behavioural psychology and related treatment techniques in order to facilitate change in their clients. This book provides an introduction to such techniques, which the authors hope will encourage clinicians and students to seek training and supervision in this field.
The opening chapter of the book covers the classification of psychogenic voice disorders, describes common characteristics of these disorders, discusses how successful traditional voice therapy is in their treatment and considers the value of a more psychological approach. Following an overview of the psychological approaches most frequently used by, speech pathologists at present, the bulk of the book is devoted to describing both the theory and practice of the cognitive-behavioural model. In the final chapter the authors suggest other clinical areas of speech pathology where the model could also be applied. Though written primarily for speech pathology clinicians and students, the book should also be of interest to other professional groups such as psychologists, psychiatrists and ENT consultants and their teams, including voice clinic personnel.