I offer a variety of virtual services all aimed at fostering healing, joy, and play.

Whether for counseling, music therapy, or both -- people may seek out mental health services for a multitude of reasons. While it will vary for each person, it often involves:

Cultivating more love and compassion for yourself and others
Building and deepening the connections within your life
Embracing a wholehearted life full of joy
Fostering more creativity, play, and laughter in your life
Settling into a sense of calm and presence
Embracing your authenticity and courage
Finding meaning and purpose to your life
Cultivating a sense of internal guidance to navigate your experience of living in the world we live in
Living fully present in the both/and of life -- the rich beauty and inevitable despair

I tend to work alongside:

Those part of queer / trans / LGBTQIA+ communities
Those part of BDSM / kink communities
Those part of ENM / polyamorous communities
Anyone exploring gender, sexuality, identity, and embodiment
Those navigating developmental trauma stemming from abuse/neglect and/or systemic oppression
Those interested in Internal Family Systems, parts work, and systemic ways of working
Therapists, music therapists, and creative folks
Those interested in music therapy and the creative arts
People of all ages, but especially teens and adults

Let's use music and singing to explore your gendered vocal habits to find a voice that feels more aligned with you (no prior music experience needed -- just a willingness to lean into some creative play!)

Sometimes stuff comes up while voicing, and that's to be expected. We'll hold as much (or as little) space for any emotions that may arise, depending on your desire and needs.

You'll be working with a nonbinary trans clinician who loves to get nerdy about voice and gender (and who has also explored their own voice in a similar capacity). Let's geek out together!

I'm here to support you in identifying your own voice and gender-related goals so that you might speak, sing, move, and live in the most affirming and authentic way you can.

Let's work on developing and strengthening your functional singing skills, artistry, and craft. Whether you're brand new to your voice or you've been training it for years, I am here to support you with your individual singing goals. This can involve:

Strengthening your range, functionality, and access to different vocal qualities
Expanding your ability to sing in different styles and genres
Exploring your own artistry and creative self-expression

While voice lessons will be focused on functional singing skills, I also focus on developing and maintaining a spirit of freedom, creativity, and play with your voice and music. I encourage students to bring music that they want to work on and to share their experiences during lessons!

"Gender affirming voicework" has increasingly become an overarching term to describe various types of gender-focused vocal training (e.g., the work that comes from speech/language pathologists or voice teachers/coaches). Specific to music therapy, I introduced a potential framework for engaging in this work in 2019 that has since evolved into a formal model for music therapists who wish to facilitate this work within the clinical setting. The development of this model comes from the collaboration of Braedyn Inmon, Kaylynn Schachner, and myself.

The model surrounds the following:

Using various music therapy methods to access and embody spoken and/or sung gender expressions
Rooted in liberatory practices aimed at consciousness-raising and tending to the emotional process as it arises
May involve working on vocal function and/or emotions or identity-related goals
Considers sociocultural context and various voices a person uses in daily life
Explores vocal aesthetics rather than treating vocal pathologies
Informed by knowledge from music therapy, speech/language pathology, vocal pedagogy, and gender & critical theories

Learn More

Supervision and consultation can be an incredibly important part of clinical practice for clinicians at all points of their career. I emphasize a social justice lens and a resource-oriented perspective and specialize in supervision for mental health & trauma, queering practice, gender affirming voicework, and voice-centered practices.

I am able to offer practicum opportunities for music therapy students interested in outpatient mental health on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, I offer practicum opportunities for those who have completed their training in gender affirming voicework.

Using an informed consent model, I offer biopsychosocial assessments and referral letters for trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive individuals seeking to access gender affirming medical care.

Informed consent recognizes a trans person as "the expert of their own needs and experiences while also respecting that medical professional(s) are able to utilize their expertise to enable effective and safe treatment." (Trans Hub).

Assessments are completed in one session, unless follow-up is needed to correct or clarify any details in a referral letter for any reason. Individuals are not required to engage in ongoing therapy with me unless this is something they desire.

Gender affirming voicework trainees

Becoming Through Sound offers part-time contracted positions for music therapists who are completing the supervised clinical work required for their Level III training in gender affirming voicework. New clinicians will be available starting January 2024 who will be able to offer free gender affirming voicework services. Stay tuned!

Ashley Jones

Art Director

Don Francis

Tech Lead

Alexa Young

Product Manager

Robert Rose

Product Designer

Level II: Facilitation of gender affirming voicework

This training is approved by the Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT) for 57 CMTE credits, 3 of which count for Ethics. Becoming Through Sound LLC [#P-227] maintains responsibility for program quality and adherence to CBMT policies and criteria.

All spots for this first cohort have been filled. Next training opportunity is intended for January 2024. Please note that the length of the training, content, cost, and objectives will be revised to reflect necessary changes in the training process. To stay in the loop about these updates, please subscribe to the gav interest list.

This 24 week training is facilitated by Maevon Gumble, Braedyn Inmon, and k schachner, offering a 3:1 ratio of trainer to trainee throughout the training. First 8 weeks will be spent focused on developing a solid foundation in gender affirming voicework. Space will be provided for the cohort to engage with readings/resources, group discussions, and experientials focused on:

Unpacking cissexism within ourselves & within the voice
Embracing a transformational learning & resource-oriented music therapy approach
Developing awareness of many kinds of vocal embodiments & hormonal environments
Building knowledge of vocal anatomy & physiology as well as resonance & pitch
Developing skills for working with the physical voice
Developing skills for emotional holding
Developing assessment & evaluation practices
Exploring ethics & scope of practice

For the remaining 16 weeks, the cohort will be divided into groups of three for triad work, with each triad getting the opportunity to work with each trainer. Each triad member will rotate through the roles of Facilitator, Participant, and Observer. This will allow each person to: Practice facilitating gender affirming voicework with peers; Explore their relationship with and mechanics of their own voice; and Observe peers to offer feedback. The training will end with the entire group coming back together to process and prepare for clinical work, should they desire to continue on to Level II.

Objectives

Participants will develop understanding of at least 3 mechanisms of the voice that are important to gender affirming voicework. (V.A.2)
Participants will engage in at least 6 gender affirming voicework experiences to explore their own relationship with their voice and gender. (V.B.11)
Participants will practice facilitating at least 6 individualized gender affirming voicework experiences with peers to develop skills. (III.A.2.g; III.A.2.t; III.A.2.ss; III.A.2.fff)
Participants will practice at least one assessment of a peer to grow familiar with voice-based assessment tools specific to gender affirming voicework. (II.B3; II.B.9; V.A.1; V.B.5)

Prerequisites

Board certified music therapist (or similarly credentialed if not based in U.S.) or current enrollment as a music therapy graduate student

We have been very intentional in our attempts to make this training as accessible and socially just as possible and are therefore using a tiered system for the cost of this training. Please note that being honest about your financial situation enables the growth of more equitable and financially sustainable communities. The cost of this training opportunity reflects a respect and commitment to the work of practitioners in healing fields who have professional costs and living expenses. When paid fairly, the facilitators of this training are able to dedicate more resources to each trainee and can provide more low cost offerings.

Tier I: $960

Available for those who are 1) BIPOC and 2) queer, transgender, nonbinary, or gender expansive (In the Art of Becoming Scholarship for BIPOC trans folx available at this tier)

Tier II: $1280

Available for 1) marginalized and minoritized music therapists and 2) music therapy students

Tier III: $1600

Suggested rate for music therapy professionals

Tier IV $2080

Recommended for those who are a part of privileged communities and those able to pay more to support the facilitators in making this training both accessible and scholarships/tiers sustainable

Plan #1

Deposit: One-third (1/3) of selected tier by 12/30/2022 when accepting a spot in the training.
Tuition payment: Remaining two-thirds (2/3) of selected tier is due by the start of the training on 1/22/2023.

Plan #2

Deposit: One-third (1/3) of selected tier by 12/30/2022 when accepting a spot in the training.
Tuition payment: One-third (1/3) of selected tier is due by the start of the training on 1/22/2023.
Tuition payment: One-third (1/3) of selected tier is due by the start of triad work on 3/19/2023.

Plan #3

Deposit: One-third (1/3) of selected tier by 12/30/2022 when accepting spot in the training.
Tuition payments: Remaining two-thirds (2/3) of selected tier divided into 7 monthly payments due on the 22nd of each month (January - July)

Picture of Maevon Gumble, who wears a black shirt and denim flannel overtop it. They are white and have short red hair (buzzed on the sides with some on top), a nose ring, and green tortoise glasses. They smile while pictured in front of the three large sunflower wall panels found in their office.

Maevon Gumble, MMT, MT-BC (they/them) has presented on the possibilities of gender affirming voicework as far back as 2017 and introduced the method in 2019 through their graduate thesis research and subsequent publications. As a genderqueer music therapist whose primary instrument is their voice, Maevon has continued to explore the possibilities of this method alongside their peers Rae and k and through offering gender affirming voicework services, predominantly to those a part of the trans and nonbinary communities. They have a full practice and specialize in both mental health services and gender affirming voicework.

Braedyn "Rae" Inmon, MMT, MT-BC (they/he) has been a board-certified music therapist since 2016. Originally from Texas, Rae has been intimately involved in the continued development of gender affirming voicework. Their experience as both a voiceworker began in 2018 as a way to support themself in their journey through hormone replacement therapy, and their work broadened in late 2019 when they began regularly working with Maevon and k to develop and practice the approach.

karter "k" schachner, MT-BC (they/them) has been a board-certified music therapy since March 2020. From the greater Pittsburgh area (PA, USA), k has also been intimately involved in the continued development of gender affirming voicework since 2019, bringing their extensive experience in voice teaching, vocal directing, and songwriting/performing to the triadic relationship with Maevon and Rae. k has been working with clients in gav since May 2022 and continues to expand their practice into other realms of music therapy, namely community-based social-emotional learning groups with youth.

What organizations I support

It is my intention to uplift, support, and amplify the voices and bodies of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, particularly those who are trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive. I also aim to support organizations that center, promote, and create music and art by marginalized and minoritized creative folx. Rooted in a desire for wealth redistribution, I currently support the following organizations through an ongoing monthly donation, listed alphabetically.

I offer a variety of virtual services all aimed at fostering healing, joy, and play.

Gender affirming voicework trainees

Level II: Facilitation of gender affirming voicework

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