Vocal
Health
First Aid

What is Vocal Health First Aid?

  • An understanding of vocal health and the factors that can affect vocal wellbeing
  • Practical skills to spot the signs of a range of vocal dysfunction and imbalance
  • Knowledge to help someone towards recovery by:
  • Guiding them in self-management, or
  • Passing them on to further support, whether that is specialist vocal rehabilitation coaching or clinical treatment
  • An understanding of how to prevent vocal health issues from occurring in the workplace

Every theatre company and educational establishment in the UK is required by law to have a qualified first aider and to train their staff in safeguarding. With the rising need for Mental Health First Aid training, we suggest that on a similar level, Vocal Health First Aid is included as a routine qualification within these institutions.

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Where might a Vocal Health First Aider work?
  • Theatre Companies
  • Colleges and Conservatoires
  • Youth Choirs
  • Performance Training Colleges
  • Saturday Schools
All of these will need a Vocal Health First Aider. The VHFA pathway ensures a basic knowledge of vocal health first aid. The VHFA will be integral to policy-making and scheduling, so that vocal health considerations are woven into the fabric of these organisations and institutions.

Who is it for?

The role of the VHFA will almost always be that of a frontline practitioner such as a Music Director or Voice Coach.
The training for the Vocal Health First Aider will provide an opportunity to:
  • Learn about the main factors that can lead to voice problems
  • Understand the emotional challenges for the performer
  • Have a fundamental awareness of how voices work when they are healthy
  • Implement strategies that can minimise or prevent the development of vocal health issues
  • Learn about common voice pathology, the causes and symptoms
  • Be guided through nasendoscopy examinations of the larynx
  • Relate the impact of lifestyle habits to healthy vocal function
  • Identify the symptoms of voice problems and provide immediate help until specialist treatment is accessed
  • Know how to access appropriate support for individuals with vocal health problems
Sign up for this course

How does the course work?

Cost of registration £55

When you sign in to our online learning platform, you will be guided through the 34 short films that make up the 6 modules of the course content. You can watch these films in your own time and there are downloadable PDFs of all the slides for you to keep and make notes.
You only have 30 days to complete the course from signing up, but you can navigate this journey at your own pace within this time frame, signing back in with your own username and password each time. There are approximately 9 hours of film content. 

How do I get certified as a Vocal Health First Aider?

Cost of assessment £45

At the end of the 34 films is a short series of questions for you to answer. If you score more than 65% as correct on the answers, you will be invited to register for an assessment. This is a 20-minute informal chat with one of the VRS teachers. If you score less than 65% correct, you can re-join at the start of the process for no extra charge for one final progression. If you fail a second time, unfortunately you will have to purchase and resit the course again.

VHFA Training Progression

  • What is Vocal Health First Aid (Stephen King and Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • The Bio-Psycho-Social Model (Stephen King)
  • Considering the Whole Body (Line Hilton)
  • Singers Are Human, Too! (Line Hilton)
  • An Introduction to Mindfulness (Dr. Anne-Marie Czajkowski)
  • Practical Mindfulness (Dr. Anne-Marie Czajkowski)
  • Mind/Body 1 (Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • Mind/Body 2 (Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • Mind/Body 3 (Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • Anatomy 1 – Body Balance (Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • Anatomy 2 – Head and Neck (Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • Anatomy 3 – Breathing and Posture (Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • Anatomy 4 – The Vocal Tract (Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • Anatomy 5 – The Larynx (Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • Anatomy 6 – The Vocal Folds (Dr Jenevora Williams)
  • Assessing Tension I (Stephen King)
  • Assessing Tension II (Stephen King)
  • Vocal Assessment Methods (Chris Johnson)
  • Speaking Voice Assessment (Lydia Hart SLT)
  • Grading the Voice (Lydia Hart SLT)
  • Building Intuition and Functional Listening Skills (Chris Johnson)
  • Joint Voice Clinic (Natalie Watson ENT)
  • Pathology (Natalie Watson ENT)
  • It’s All Connected (Line Hilton)
  • Hydration and Reflux (Duncan Rock)
  • The Holistic Approach, What to Do? (Line Hilton)
  • An Introduction to Straw Phonation (Oren Boder)
  • Common Myths and Myth Busting (Duncan Rock)
  • Movement Series 1 (Chris Johnson)
  • Movement Series 2 (Chris Johnson)
  • Movement Series 3 (Chris Johnson)
  • Exercise and the Voice (Duncan Rock)
  • The Singer’s First Aid Kit (Dr Jenevora Williams)
Download Course Info Pack
Start the journey

Vocal Health First Aid Tutors

Duncan Rock

Lydia Hart SLT

Chris Johnson

Line Hilton

Dr. Anne-Marie Czajkowski

Stephen King

Oren Boder

Dr Jenevora Williams

Natalie Watson ENT
Tutor biogs
Vocal Health First Aid Scope of Practice

"Giving a voice to Vocal Health"

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