Voice therapy: From the past to the present from a phoniatrician's perspective (Voice of Experience Keynote, PEVOC 2013, Prague)

Abstract

The roots of voice therapy can be traced back to the professional use of the voice in antiquity. During the Baroque period, aspects of the singers’ voice came to the fore, and in the beginning of the twentieth century, physiologic and medical perspectives concentrating on the peripheral areas of phonation were introduced. In parallel, holistic approaches stressed psychological and behavioral conditions. A vast amount of specific methods and strategies has been developed, but so far there has been no clear evidence revealing which of the approaches provides the best efficacy. According to the experience of the author, rather than the method itself, it is the clinician using the methods who makes the difference. The general guide-line for the choice of an appropriate treatment should be the Hippocratic imperative: primum nil nocere—first do no harm.

Key words::

• history
• therapy
• voice

Acknowledgements

This paper is a written version of the invited keynote speech given at the 10th Pan-European Voice Conference (PEVOC) in Prague, Czech Republic on 21–24 August 2013.

It is dedicated to Professor Hans von Leden, MD, DSc, the pioneer of vocology, on the occasion of his 95th birthday, 20 November 2013.

Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.