Paul Newham (born 16 March 1962) is a retired British psychotherapist known for developing techniques used in psychology and psychotherapy that make extensive use of the arts to facilitate and examine two forms of human communication: the interpersonal communication through which people speak aloud and listen to others, and the intrapersonal communication that enables individuals to converse silently with themselves. His methods emphasise the examination of traumatic experiences through literary and vocal mediums of expression, including creative writing, storytelling, and song. He is cited by peers as a pioneer in recognition of his original contribution to the expressive therapies.Uhlig, S. and Baker, F., Voicework in music therapy: Pioneers and a new generation. In Baker, F. and Uhlig, S. (Eds.), Voicework in Music Therapy: Research and Practice. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011, pp25–38.McNiff, S., Integrating the Arts in Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice. Springfield, IL, USA: Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 2009.Levine, E. G. and Stephen, K.,·Foundations of Expressive Arts Therapy: Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1998.Karpf, A., The human voice: The story of a remarkable talent. London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011.
Newham began by teaching young adults with physical and developmental disabilities, many of whom could not articulate speech, assisting them in combining instrumental music and nonverbal vocalisation as an expressive alternative to spoken communication. Subsequently, he worked psychotherapeutically with adults who were verbally articulate but could not satisfactorily communicate their reactions to traumatic events using spoken words. Therefore, Newham developed techniques that helped his clients understand the seemingly wordless nature of their distressing experience and express it through artistic mediums, including dance, music, and drama. These techniques have been incorporated into professional practice by practitioners from diverse disciplines.Totton, N., Body Psychotherapy: An Introduction. Columbus, OH, USA: McGraw-Hill Education, 2003.Benjamin, A., Making an entrance: theory and practice for disabled and non-disabled dancers. London, UK and New York, USA: Routledge, 2013.
Childhood influence and education
Newham's biological father was Bertold Paul Wiesner (1901–1972), an Austrian Jewish physiologist known firstly for his research into human fertility and the diagnosis of pregnancy,Sanders, M. A., Wiesner, B. P. and Yudkin, J., Control of fertility by 6-Azauridine. Nature, Vol. 189, 1961, pp1015–1016.McLaren, A., Reproduction by Design: Sex, Robots, Trees, and Test-Tube Babies in Interwar Britain. Chicago, USA: University of Chicago Press, 2012. and secondly for coining the term 'Psi' in 1942,Thouless, R. H., Experiments on paranormal guessing. British Journal of Psychology, Vol. 33, 1942, pp15–27.Thouless, R. H. and Wiesner, B. P., The Psi processes in normal and paranormal psychology. Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Vol. 48, 1948, pp177–196.Thouless, R. H. and Wiesner, B. P., On the nature of Psi phenomena. Journal of Parapsychology, Vol. 1, 1946, pp107–119. now widely used to signify parapsychological phenomena.Rhine, J. B., Psi phenomena and psychiatry. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, Vol. 43, No. 11, 1950, pp804–814.Dybvig, M., On the philosophy of Psi. Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 30, No. 3, 1987, pp253–275.
Newham is one among hundreds of children conceived through the artificial insemination of Wiesner's sperm, facilitated by his wife, Doctor Mary Barton, an obstetrician who founded one of the first private fertility clinics, which operated in London from the 1940s until its closure in 1967.Davis, G., A tragedy as old as history: Medical responses to infertility and artificial insemination by donor in 1950s Britain. In Davis, G. and Loughran, T. (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Infertility in History: Approaches, Contexts and Perspectives. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017, pp359–382.Blackford, Lord, Artificial Insemination of Married Women. Hansard. UK Parliament. Vol. 207, 26 February 1958, pp926–1016. Retrieved 10 January 2021.Barton, M., Fertility in married women. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. Vol. 16, No. 3, 1968, pp327–331. Barton and Wiesner falsely claimed that they procured sperm from a specially selected group of exceptionally intelligent anonymous donors, presuming their own identities would remain unknown after destroying all records of the clinic's clientele.Barton, M., Walker, K. and Wiesner, B. P., Artificial insemination. The British Medical Journal, Vol. 1, No. 4384, January 1945, pp40–43.Allan, S., Donor conception and the search for information: from secrecy and anonymity to openness. London, UK and New York, USA: Routledge, 2016. However, reports published by British Newspapers in 2012 alleged that Wiesner provided his own sperm for many procedures.Dowling, K., British sperm donor fathered 600 children. The Sunday Times. 8 April 2012.Dowling, K., Hunting the daddy of all secret fathers. The Sunday Times. 15 April 2012.Fricker, M., Grand Daddy: Sperm Donor Scientist May Have Fathered 1000 Babies at Clinic He Ran. Daily Mirror, 8 April 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2019.Kelly, T., British scientist 'fathered 600 children' by donating sperm at his own fertility clinic. Daily Mail, 8 April 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2019.Kensche, C., 600 Children Looking for a Father. Die Welt. 10 April 2012.Rawstorne, T., The man who fathered 1,000 children: They're middle-class, living in Britain – and only a few have any idea about the extraordinary story surrounding their birth. Mail Online, 17 April 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2019.Smith, R., British man fathered 600 children at own fertility clinic. The Telegraph. 8 April 2012. Subsequent DNA paternity testing of adults conceived at the clinic indicates that Wiesner may have sired more than 600 children by donating his sperm to artificial inseminations performed by Barton, of which Newham is one.Nunn, J., Crawshaw, M. and Lacaze, P., Co-Designing Genomics Research with a Large Group of Donor-Conceived Siblings. Durham, NC, USA: Research Square, 2020.Kleeman, J., The great sperm heist: 'They were playing with people's lives'. The Guardian. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021. Others include British barrister David Gollancz and Canadian filmmaker Barry Stevens.Stevens, B., (Writer & Director) Offspring. Barna-Alper Productions. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), 2001. OCLC: 1077899880Mandal, A., Sperm donor found to have fathered 600 babies. News-Medical. 9 April 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
Newham grew up falsely believing that his mother's abusive husband, Derek Joseph Newham, was his biological father. He frequently attempted to discern the subject of violent arguments between them as he listened in his bedroom, where only the timbre of their voices, including shouts, screams, and crying, was perceptible. This experience inspired Newham to investigate the psychology of the human voice, initially focusing on nonverbal expressions of emotion.De Fonzo, M., Neurocanto: Salute e Benessere con le Arti Terapie. Rome, Italy: Armando Editore, 2018.Van der Walt, M. and Baron, A., The role of music therapy in the treatment of a girl with pervasive refusal syndrome: exploring approaches to empowerment. Australian Journal of Music Therapy, Vol. 17, 2006, pp35–53.
Newham originally trained in Stanislavski's system of method acting at the Drama Centre in London, where he studied the analytical psychology of Carl Jung and the movement analysis of Rudolf Laban under the tutelage of Yat Malmgren. After working in experimental theatre, Newham became interested in how the process of transformative arts can facilitate the well-being and empowerment of those who participate. He subsequently trained at Dartington College of Arts, where he studied Authentic Movement with Mary Fulkerson, contact improvisation with Steve Paxton, and cultural psychology with Anne Kilcoyne before pursuing post-graduate research at the universities of Warwick and Exeter.ResearchGate Profile: Paul Newham. Berlin, Germany: ResearchGate GmbH. researchgate.net Profile: Paul-Newham-2. Retrieved 12 December 2022.ORCID Biography: Paul Newham. Bethesda, MD, USA: ORCID Inc. orcid.org ID: 0000-0001-5686-5343. Retrieved 12 December 2022.Coreil, C. and Napoliello, M. (Eds.), Author Biographies. Journal of the Imagination in Learning, Vol. 3, No. 1., 1995–96, p118.
Work The human voice
During his undergraduate studies at Dartington College of Arts, Newham was inspired by the life of German vocal coach Alfred Wolfsohn and the research conducted at the Alfred Wolfsohn Voice Research Centre.
Alfred Wolfsohn (1896–1962) was a German Jew who suffered persistent auditory hallucinations of screaming soldiers whom he had witnessed dying of wounds while serving as a stretcher bearer in the trenches of World War I at the age of eighteen. After being subsequently diagnosed with shell shock, Wolfsohn did not recover in response to hospitalisation or psychiatric treatment but claimed to have cured himself by vocalising the extreme sounds of his hallucinations, bringing about what he described as a combination of catharsis and exorcism.Wolfsohn, A., Die Brücke. London 1947 (Manuscript). Trans. Marita Günther and Sheila Braggins. Repository: Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam: NL.Wolfsohn, A., Orpheus, oder der Weg zu einer Maske. Germany 1936–1938 (Manuscript). Trans. Marita Günther. Repository: Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam: NL. Wolfsohn was encouraged by the range and expressiveness of his voice, resulting from the vocal exercises and techniques he developed while attempting to heal the symptoms of trauma sustained during the war. He subsequently began teaching others, acting as both a singing teacher and psychotherapist, seeking to combine the principles of both disciplines.Newham, P., The psychology of voice and the founding of the Roy Hart Theatre. New Theatre Quarterly, Vol. IX, No. 33, February 1993, pp59–65.Günther, M., The human voice: On Alfred Wolfsohn. Spring: A Journal of Archetype and Culture, Vol. 50, 1990, pp65–75.
Newham empathised with Wolfsohn's post-war trauma, having been traumatised by the sounds of violent arguing between his mother and Derek Newham while growing up. Therefore, he built upon and extended the endeavours begun at the Alfred Wolfsohn Voice Research Centre, aligning them with cognitive and psychophysiological principles. Newham alleged that vocalising might have therapeutic benefits comparable to those achieved through expressive therapies, including drama therapy, music therapy, and dance movement therapy.De Fonzo, M., Canta che ti Passa. Rome, Italy: Sovera Edizioni, 2012.McNiff, S., Integrating the Arts in Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice. Springfield, IL, USA: Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 2009.Storm, S., The human voice: Psychology and psychodynamic voice therapy. Psyke & Logos: Musik og Psykologi, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2007, pp447–478.