Catherine Kay Brown is an adjunct voice instructor at Immaculata University and a private voice teacher in Downingtown, Pennsylvania (USA).
During her graduate studies at West Chester University, she researched mindfulness in people with voice disorders. Her article, “Effects of an 8-Week Mindfulness Course in People with Voice Disorders,” is in press in Journal of Voice.
She has led a two-part workshop, “Mindfulness Exercises for Use in the Voice Therapy or Pedagogy Settings,” at the 2023 Pan-American Vocology Association’s Symposium with Julia Gerhard, DMA, CCC-SLP of the University of Miami. She has presented a webinar, “Mindfulness for People with Voice Disorders: Research and Resources,” for Dysphonia International and has led a workshop on mindfulness for singers at the National Association of Teachers of Singing’s Eastern Regional Conference.
Ms. Brown runs ongoing mindfulness courses for people with voice disorders and is currently collaborating with the University of Miami on several research projects related to voice and mindfulness.
Upcoming Short Courses
Tuesday 6th May 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
(London Time)
Mindfulness and Voice: Exploring the Intersection through Peer-Reviewed Literature
Catherine Brown
Despite strong interest, only a handful of peer-reviewed studies have examined the relationship between mindfulness and voice. Emerging research indicates that mindfulness can help voice users learn to respond to stress more effectively and may help them manage performance anxiety. In this course, we will examine several types of peer-reviewed literature: a) mindfulness studies that indirectly relate to voice work. b) We will review research that examines mindfulness as it relates to voice-adjacent fields (e.g., music performance anxiety and stammering/stuttering). c) We will look at the few published studies that have directly investigated the relationship between mindfulness and voice and d) we will examine directions for future qualitative and quantitative research.