HOW YOU SAY IT: EXPERIENCED PSYCHOTHERAPISTS’ UNDERSTANDINGS OF VOCAL QUALITY IN THE PSYCHOTHERAPY PROCESS

Title: HOW YOU SAY IT: EXPERIENCED PSYCHOTHERAPISTS’ UNDERSTANDINGS OF VOCAL QUALITY IN THE PSYCHOTHERAPY PROCESS

Description: The importance of psychotherapist vocal quality to the psychotherapy process is widely advocated by psychotherapy researchers and practitioners. However, it remains unclear which aspects of vocal quality are important and under which conditions they are important. My dissertation will explore experienced psychotherapists’ understandings of the role of vocal quality in the psychotherapy process. I will interview experienced psychotherapists about their understandings of psychotherapist vocal quality. The interview data will be subject to grounded theory analysis. The final product of this work will be a theory of psychotherapist understandings of psychotherapist vocal quality. This will focus and refine future research on psychotherapist vocal quality as well as inform the practice of psychotherapy.

Specifics: Study Population:
I am recruiting participants with a minimum 15 years of experience providing psychotherapy. Participants must be registered members of a healthcare profession, actively see at least one psychotherapy client per week, and be fluent in spoken English.

Participant Obligation:
Participants will participate in interviews lasting 60-90 minutes and complete a short questionnaire about demographics and professional experiences. They will be offered a $20 Amazon gift card and entry into a draw for a $100 Amazon gift card.

Location: Participation is completely virtual. To participate, please e-mail claire.hallett@mail.utoronto.ca.

Project lead: Claire Hallett, Supervisor: Dr. Jeanne Watson

Study Dates: January 13, 2026 to August 31, 2026