Vocal feminization

[SaintAlia]

I was wondering who here may have had experience working with a speech therapist for vocal feminization. I want to look into it, and my insurance actually covers it (my company actually has a very progressive trans-related health plan).

I was wondering if anyone had any tips, thoughts, suggestions. What was your experience like? Did it help? How long did it take/how much work? What did the therapy look like?

Extra points if you know of someone on Long Island who does it and takes insurance! lol

Thanks everyone!

~Alia

[ainsley]

I went for two years.  For a year before vocal surgery and for a year after.  Was completely worth it.  My insurance covered it, too.  I highly recommend it, and my voice surgeon (Haben) required it.  Make sure they are a speech language pathologist.  I made the mistake of going to a woman that was a licensed clinical social worker that worked with trans clients, but also thought she could do vocal feminization therapy.  When I told my speech pathologist what exercises the lcsw was having me do, she was aghast. 

Also, speech therapy for feminization is not about learning to speak in falsetto.  It deals with:

Prosody, resonance, intonation, inflection, frontal focus, word choice, and articulation.  Pitch is only part of it.
Here is a good resource to get you thinking about the proper things to work on:
http://www.nyspeechandvoicelab.net/transgender/voice-feminization/

[SaintAlia]

Ooh, thank you! I knew it was about more than making it artificially high, but have ZERO clue what to do. Since I'm already out at work I've been muddling through. Getting mixed reviews, depending on who I talk to.

Thank you for the tip about looking for a "speech language pathologist." I was curious how I would know the person I go to has the experience to actually help me with what I want.

I'm thinking of contacting my local LGBT center and asking if they recommend anyone.

~Alia

[ainsley]

Ooh, thank you! I knew it was about more than making it artificially high, but have ZERO clue what to do. Since I'm already out at work I've been muddling through. Getting mixed reviews, depending on who I talk to.

Thank you for the tip about looking for a "speech language pathologist." I was curious how I would know the person I go to has the experience to actually help me with what I want.

I'm thinking of contacting my local LGBT center and asking if they recommend anyone.

~Alia

Glad to help!  My advice is to worry about all of the things you can change.  My pitch was pretty low...117hz and that was simply because of my physical structures.  Most attempts to get it in the female range resulted in a contrived falsetto that I hated.  For me, I could not affect pitch more than about 40hz by speaking with a raised larynx.  The rest of the stuff I told you made more of a difference than pitch.  Surgery was the only way I got my pitch to 210hz.  Change your speaking habits, then worry about pitch.

[SaintAlia]

Glad to help!  My advice is to worry about all of the things you can change.  My pitch was pretty low...117hz and that was simply because of my physical structures.  Most attempts to get it in the female range resulted in a contrived falsetto that I hated.  For me, I could not affect pitch more than about 40hz by speaking with a raised larynx.  The rest of the stuff I told you made more of a difference than pitch.  Surgery was the only way I got my pitch to 210hz.  Change your speaking habits, then worry about pitch.

Yeah that sounds like a good plan. While I'm sure overall I don't pass very well, there are times when it seems like I do... until I speak. I'm already doing the main things I can for physical appearance, though they take time, and constantly trying to learn and adapt mannerisms. It seems like the next biggest thing is voice. Thanks for the help!