Areas of Work

Freeing the body from habitual tension patterns; discovering the ease, flexibility, and power of a released breath and establishing it, so that thought and expression come from a more expansive reservoir; becoming aware of the habitual tune patterns that restrict effective communication and developing a broader repertoire to enable it - all this is immensely liberating and empowering and is at the core of Sue’s work.

Drawing on a depth of knowledge, combined with diagnostic expertise and perceptive and intuitive skill, Sue finds the route to experiencing a free, authentic voice, which has the capacity to meet all the challenges that everyday life, work or performance may present.

Stephen Mangan - Actor

"I learnt a huge amount working with Sue. She is passionate, knowledgeable, skillful and committed. I can't recommend her highly enough."

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

VOICE

Does your voice truly reflect who you are now and does it carry all the subliminal information you would like?

Does your physical communication contribute positively to an exchange or does it detract, distract or obstruct?

Speech differences, regarded as amusing idiosyncrasies as a small child, may as a young person or adult, draw attention away from the content of the message or even impair the understanding of it.

Are you free to simply 'be' in the process of communication, or does a lack of confidence in one or more of these areas prevent you from doing so and therefore from fulfilling your potential?

Sam - Veterinary Student

"I would not be in Vet School without Sue's strong guidance. Her teaching went above and beyond any other interview preparation that I have ever done: going right back to basics to make sure that every moment you spend in the interview is one that not only shows you off as an amazing applicant, but keeps you calm and focussed throughout. Her kind and generous manner made her one of the first people I wanted to tell about receiving my offer. She is awesome!"

BREATHING

Everyone benefits from a released, natural, diaphragmatic breathing pattern - whether it is breathing for wellbeing, vocal health, presentation, performance or giving birth.

Sue will teach you some simple techniques to shift from a shallow, upper-chest breathing pattern, corresponding to a physiological state of panic - to a released, diaphragmatic pattern, which enables you to function calmly and economically with a greater sense of wellbeing. This is a particularly beneficial tool in the management of anxiety.

Establishing this breathing pattern, enables the voice to work efficiently and therefore optimises performance in any situation: in every-day life, teaching, presenting or performing.

Learning breathing techniques can also have huge benefits for a woman during labour: giving her a tool which can enable her to release, feel some control over pain and experience calm. Sue works with couples - so that the birthing partner feels confident in their understanding of breathing for birth and can be supportive throughout labour.

Deborah Haskew - Executive Coach and Organisation Psychologist

"At the outset, I had no idea how transformational it would be to work with Sue. Connecting with my breath not only released and resourced me to be more present with my clients and in my personal relationships, but also helped me to find a stronger foundation and a felt-sense of a healthy posture and alignment.

I made large shifts in a few sessions and Sue supported my continued development and re-patterning with a clear and realistic programme, providing me with techniques which have enabled me to sustain change independently."

SORTING OUT SPEECH

Sue works with adults and children to skillfully analyse their patterns of speech, develop a programme of remediation and with clarity and encouragement support her clients through change, freeing them to realise their potential - and she makes it interesting and fun!

Jess - Child Psychologist

"Sue has been working with my 6-year-old son and her enthusiasm, skill, precision and perceptiveness have shone through, engaging him in tricky tasks with fun, laughter, focus, rhythm and wordplay. He loves his sessions with her and although he is young, Sue has helped him enormously to distinguish between sounds and to learn how to produce them.

As a Child Psychologist myself, I have been impressed by how Sue has been able to informally evaluate my son's issues, as well as take into account his personality and interests and adjust her approach to suit and engage him.

Sue fills our sessions with energy and positivity and has made the learning journey fun and a real achievement."

Anna

"Sue helped my teenage son to overcome his lisp. She gave him six sessions over a three week holiday period, during which time he did the exercises she had given him every day. At the end of the holiday, he no longer had the lisp and his confidence about speaking at school improved dramatically.

Sue was kind and direct at all times. Her belief in him and her clear expertise gave him the self-belief to work hard to bring about change."

DYSFLUENCY

Sue’s unique approach to adult dysfluency is not method-bound, but rather, informed by a depth of knowledge and an understanding of each individual's picture. Sue works with sensitivity and an awareness of past and present experiences, together with future potential, to bring about fundamental change.

The goal is to find and establish an ease of communication and to experience freedom from any negative emotional ties with stammering, so that any dysfluency loses it's negative power and is no longer the focus of attention.

Ben

"Your transformative teaching and coaching provided a turning point for my life, enabling me to unravel the knot which was compromising pretty much everything.

Through the work, I unlocked my voice, removed the daily experience of anxiety-induced exhaustion, broke the life-long negative bond between stammering and my emotions and found my ability to communicate with ease and a growing self-belief. On the rare occasion that I do stammer a bit, I can observe it, whilst not feeling overwhelmed by it at all. I just accept it as a quirky part of me.

The work instilled in me the realisation that creating paradigm-shifting change is possible, through the right process. Your work is amazing and I am eternally grateful."

SUE COWEN at THE VOICE SPACE

Voice Teacher