Biography
Dr. Brett Welch is a clinician-researcher studying the psychological processes undergirding voice and communication behaviors. Clinically, Dr. Welch is a voice-specialized, nationally certified speech-language pathologist who frequently helps patients navigate how factors like identity, personality, and trauma relate to their voice and communication. Building off this clinical background, his line of research seeks to examine both the psychological factors contributing to voice and communication disorders, as well as how one’s voice and communication influences their psycho-social well-being. To interrogate these relationships, Dr. Welch leverages contemporary quantitative methods with empirical frameworks of individual differences and transdiagnostic approaches to psychopathology.
He completed his doctoral training under the mentorship of Dr. Leah B. Helou in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the interdisciplinary Affective Communication and Computing Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kansas under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey Girard. In addition to being cross trained in Psychology and furthering his knowledge of advanced quantitative methods, Dr. Welch is working with Dr. Girard to further our understanding of voice and speech as a biomarker of psychopathology by integrating current best practices in voice and speech science.
Dr. Welch seeks to continue researching these so-called psycho-social-vocal relationships as a tenure-track independent investigator at a research institution. By continuing to understand these relationships, he hopes to advance evidence-based medicine and improve assessment, treatment, and outcomes for patients working with speech-language pathologists.