The Music Industry Therapist Collective have launched a crowdfunding campaign for the release of a mental health manual for artists on tour. They aim to create an in-depth clinically-sound practical manual to support and guide all those who struggle on tour. You can pledge here.
The Music Industry Therapist Collective was founded by psychotherapist, touring researcher and ex music industry festival & venue booker Tamsin Embleton. They are a group of psychotherapists in the UK and US who previously worked in the music industry in studios, live events, PR, at record labels, in radio and as artists. Since working in the music industry they have all retrained and currently work as psychotherapists specialising in working with musicians and music industry.
Embleton told us about the manual: “Touring can be fun and deeply rewarding but it can also be intense, stressful and lonely. It pushes the body, mind and brain through a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Some artists struggle when they’re on the road, some when the bubble bursts and they return feeling exhausted, flat, withdrawn, dejected or having developed dependencies or addictions in order to regulate or numb difficult emotions.
We’ll be offering detailed guidance in the Touring & Mental Health manual, which will tackle issues including: performance anxiety, conflict, loneliness, relationship difficulties, addiction, disrupted sleep patterns, drug-induced psychosis, stress and burn-out, shock, trauma and post-tour depression. There will be practical strategies written by experts outlining how to prepare and cope with touring as well as anecdotes written by a diverse group of artists as to how they cope.”
The 300+ page manual will feature practical guidance, resources, psycho-education, diagrams and illustrations, alongside clinical vignettes and tips from touring musicians and tour managers. They claim the manual will help you to “improve your awareness, agency and emotional resilience through teaching you how to approach psychological difficulty from a compassionate, informed and understanding position.”
