The Johansen Story

Dr Kjeld Johansen

Dr. Kjeld Johansen - A brief Biography

Dr Kjeld Johansen qualified as a Teacher 1963 and taught maths, science and special education before becoming vice-principal of his school on the island of Bornholm, Denmark. He also has an MSc in Psychology and a PhD in Education.

Having met and worked with Dr. Christian Volf, a Danish American who had developed his own auditory stimulation programme he believed, like Volf, that the right and left ears functioned in different ways. Johansen IAS has been developed to make use of audiometric information gained during assessment and to target specific areas of difficulty according to that information in order to increase the effectiveness of auditory stimulation.

Together with Bent-Peder Holbech, a musician working on Bornholm, he produced and developed the Johansen IAS music. The music is synthesised and draws on influences from medical, educational and musical theory from around the world. It is pleasant to listen to and can be used without additional customization for young children or those who cannot fully cooperate with audiometric assessment. When customised, it allows for maximum flexibility to organise the listener’s auditory processing.

Kjeld Johansen has worked with Mediacenter AB in Sweden to develop the ‘Sensograph’ technology for customising Johansen IAS music.

Dr. Kjeld Johansen ran his first UK training course in 1994. Since 2002, Johansen IAS National Directors have been appointed in eleven countries.

Their role includes:

  • Training
  • Promoting Johansen IAS
  • Supporting Providers using the programme
  • Developing international links, common goals and common standards of training and working
  • Promoting research

Bent-Peder Holbech

Bent Peder Holbech was born in Svendborg, and moved after graduation to Bornholm. He taught music and started up his own music publishers ‘Rotna Music’.

A central part of Bent Peder Holbech’s works are “rhythmic” vocal works with rhythm Trio-composed in connection with the choir work at Bornholms Gymnasium, where Holbech taught for 33 years. These works include: “Missa Brevis Rhythmica” 1976, “Missa Rotna” 1978, “And It Came to Pass” 1978, “Genesis” 1984 and others. Musically, the works climb a jazz/rock tradition and are therefore readily available to young amateurs and listeners. Because of the texts, the works are also suitable in the context of Kirkemusik.

Other works have been made in connection with theatrical performances, e.g. The 2 Hammershus performances “One Night in History” 1978 and “Within the Walls” 1979 as well as 2 musicals “Nokke Rose” 1980 and “Aladdin” 1996. In 1984, the choral work was “after Bikini?” with text by Halfdan Rasmussen in the Radio House concert Hall with a larger dance group and the choir and orchestra of Bornholm High School.

From 1986 Bent Peder Holbech began a long-standing collaboration with Kjeld Johansen about the treatment of dyslexia. Together they developed the electronically recorded music suite called “Waves” which remains a mainstay in the Johansen IAS treatment programme.

Bent Peder Holbech has also composed and recorded TV Jingles, a TV Christmas calendar and music for child television broadcasting to TV Bornholm and TV2 in their own studio.

Christian A Volf

Volf was one of the leading pioneers of auditory stimulation. He believed that sound had an impact on people and that he could cure some learning difficulties by gelng children to listen to certain sounds.

  • Together with a psychologist he started working with children with Learning Difficulties
  • He used his Auditory Stimulation when working with depression and learning disabilities
  • Kjeld compiled some statistics on some children who were using Volf’s tapes
  • He saw the benefits, so started working with these Volf sounds himself
  • He tested his clients using pure tone audiometry and other assessments
  • During this time he observed a difference in the function of the right and left ears
  • The keys and frequencies used in Johansen IAS were based on the work of Christian Volf
“Her ability to comprehend the spoken word has come on in leaps and bounds and with it has come increased confidence.”
“Every visit I could see the improvement in Murray. More importantly, so could he.”
“He now seemed able to copy my corrections of his mispronunciations accurately and without the frustration previously displayed.”
“After a year and a bit I really feel that A. has gained a great deal from the Johansen Sound Therapy.”

Contacting Johansen IAS:

You can contact us between 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday – Friday

Telephone enquiries: 01242 539016

Email enquiries: info@johansenias.com