Tel: 07811515954
About
CARRIE GARRETT
BA (Hons), PGCE, BSc (Hons), certMRCSLT, MASLTIP, HCPC
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Voice Specialist Speech & Language Therapist
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Vocal Massage Therapist
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Singing Teacher/ Vocal Coach
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Lecturer (Music/ Voice)
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Performer
Background:
Carrie is a UK based voice specialist Speech & Language Therapist and Clinical Director at The Singer's Clinic. Alongside her skills in numerous diagnostic and therapeutic interventions related to her specialist field, she is consistently warm, relaxed to work with, and passionate about helping people improve their voices. She's a firm believer that voice work should be enjoyable, practical, productive and centred around the individual's needs.
Academic Qualifications:
Carrie holds undergraduate degrees in Popular Music (Liverpool University, 2001) and a first class honours degree in Speech and Language Therapy (Birmingham City University 2012). She is a qualified teacher of Music (PGCE, 2003), and is currently a visiting lecturer in Voice at Birmingham City University for the Speech & language Therapy BSc, MSc, and Apprenticeship programmes.
Publications:
Carrie contributed to the nationally recognised 'UHSM Singer’s Endoscopy Protocol', a voice therapy protocol for use with singers whilst in SLT-led functional endoscopy clinics. This protocol was the culmination of many years work from Sue Jones, Carrie Garrett and Dane Chalfin. It was published through Compton Publishing in 'Laryngeal Endoscopy and Voice Therapy: A Clinical Guide' (Jones, 2016). www.comptonpublishing.co.uk
Carrie has also provided Voice Care features for national publications such as Music Teacher Magazine (2023) and Blog features for VitaVoice www.vitavoice.co.uk
Workshops:
Over the years, Carrie has delivered workshops and masterclasses on topics such as Vocal Health, Functional Endoscopy, Vocal Anatomy, and Vocal Rehabilitation for Singers on behalf of the British Voice Association (BVA), Association of Teachers of Singing (AOTOS), British Association of Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM), Vocal Process, BIMM, the Association of British Choral Directors (ABCD), Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), and the Birmingham School of Acting.
She is a registered practitioner (SLT and Vocal Rehabilitation Coach) with the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM), and regularly mentors developing Singing Teachers and SLTs interested in developing their own Vocal Rehabilitation skills.
Podcasts:
This is a Voice (hosted by Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher of VOCAL PROCESS).
Click on the title link above to hear Carrie speak about her work as an SLT with clients experiencing long covid.
A Voiceover's Audio Adventure Podcast (hosted by award-winning Voiceover Artist Jo Troy). Click on the title link above to hear Carrie speaking about vocal health and how to maintain it as a working voiceover artist.
Musical Background:
Originally an instrumentalist (Saxophones/ Flute/ Piano), Carrie was a music scholar, had 3x grade 8's (ABRSM) by the age of 15, was in the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra and was a student at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (Junior Conservatoire) for Singing and Flute age 15-18, where she undertook her Advanced Diploma in Performance (ARSM).
She studied towards her first degree Music/Popular Music Performance in Liverpool and subsequently worked as a live performer and recording artist between 2000 and 2020. She has recorded multiple tracks for Northstar Music Publishing (Universal, Sky, Discovery Channel, Tiger Beer, Avon and Mercedes), Digital Insomnia Recordings, Bang! (UK), and Nine Records (US), and has been commissioned for work with producers such as Nashville based Derek Garten (credits with Taylor Swift) and UK based Tom Gittins (Monochrome Productions).
After achieving her first degree, Carrie worked full time as a performer. She then returned to University to gain a PGCE teaching qualification in 2003. Carrie taught music, and eventually ran the music performance department at a Midlands-based FE/HE College for several years; examined for Rockschool Performance Arts Awards; moderated for AS and A level Edexcel Music qualifications; taught singing at Access to Music (Birmingham) and Stagecoach (Halesowen & Walsall); ran successful community choirs for both children and adults; taught and ran music workshops in schools; and guest lectured on Music Degree courses in Voice Care and Singing at Birmingham City University and Wolverhampton University while continuing to perform, record and teach singing privately.
Speech & Language Therapy Background:
Carrie's most recent NHS role is working as a Paediatric Voice and Laryngeal Disorders SLT at Birmingham Children's Hospital (starting February 2024). Prior to this she was Clinical Lead for Voice within Adult SLT Services at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (2019-2023),
Over the past 12 years, Carrie has also worked as a Voice Specialist SLT at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham (2014-2017); Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (2012-2017), and at Worcestershire Royal Hospital on behalf of Worcester Acute NHS Trust (2021-22).
She has wide ranging clinical experience, having worked with full time voice outpatients caseload, within joint SLT/ENT voice clinics, and within SLT-led functional endoscopy Elite Voice User/ Professional Voice User/ Singer's Clinics, where she undertook her endoscopy competencies.
Looking to the future...
Alongside running her busy therapy practice, Carrie is keen to help other professionals with an interest in rehabilitating individuals with voice problems. She offers clinical and professional supervision to developing speech therapists and singing teachers on a 1:1 basis each month. Her personal ethos is about supporting others to reach their full vocal potential through equipping an individual's 'vocal health toolkit' with a range of approaches to achieving and maintaining a flexible, free and responsive voice. This includes focus on healthy living, managing stress, tension release techniques, and (of course) developing a good foundation in healthy vocal technique for both speech and singing.
Carrie remains committed to staying on top of current best practice through maintaining commitment to research and evidence-based methods of treatment as a member of RCSLT Voice CENs, BAPAM, ASLTIP, the BVA, BLA, and through regular reading of research papers and journal articles.
