The first thing I noticed when starting my transition was the importance of my voice. My original speaking voice brought me immense dysphoria and played a huge part in my (lack of) confidence. Furthermore, when presenting fully as myself, it affected me even more as the disparity between how I sounded and looked made it even harder to ignore. But this was not just a problem internally. I also noticed that my voice played a much larger role in being gendered correctly than I had initially anticipated, so much so that I would actively avoid speaking if I could. It is very difficult to put into words how much of a struggle this was to me. Essentially, I felt utterly hopeless- certain that there was nothing I could do that would make any significant difference.
After finding Celia online, things began to change. I very quickly got into contact, and immediately started weekly voice sessions. However, I had various worries before I started: how long would it take to see any noticeable difference? Would a noticeable difference in my voice be difficult to maintain? Could a voice I’m happy with ever come out naturally? Over time, each of these worries was confronted.
Celia was a really great teacher which made it much easier to focus in lessons, practice and improve despite my having ADHD. It is important to emphasise that voice therapy is essentially a skill to be trained and improved, and that you only get out what you put in.
Aside from excellent teaching, Celia was also very friendly and easy to talk to which made it easy to ask questions and added to lesson enjoyment.
Since working with Celia, my life has certainly changed for the better. I now live full-time happily as myself, and do not struggle with being gendered correctly (and definitely in large part attribute this to my voice). Now, the way my voice sounds adds to my confidence rather than detracting from it. It also comes naturally now, and I put no mental thought into maintaining it. I am hugely grateful for everything that has come out of these sessions and I would definitely recommend them to any trans women who aren’t satisfied with their voice.