Flexible, Confidential Mental Health Support for Performers and Touring Professionals 

The Music Industry Therapist Collective (MITC) has announced a new Online Tour Health and Welfare Coaching platform for artists, performers and touring professionals. The confidential new service offers short-notice expert-led coaching sessions designed to address the challenges touring musicians, performers and crew face while living and working on the road. Available 24/7, this is the latest initiative for MITC Soundcheck’s comprehensive mental health service for the live music industry. 

High rates of anxiety, depression, insomnia and burnout are common among touring professionals, from artists and performers to production staff and promoters. Constant travel, financial instability, performance pressure, sleep disruption, lifestyle and cultural factors (such as use of alcohol as a coping mechanism), and a lack of consistent access to support all contribute to mounting stress and ill-health. As touring professionals face these significant challenges while lacking proper mental health support on the road, MITC have designed a brand new, one-of-a-kind online service that supports touring individuals during these trying times as they deal with time zone changes, lack of privacy, job insecurity, long work days and schedule changes. 

The innovative new booking platform responds to these challenges by providing a vital source of support and information designed by specialists in tour psychology and mental health in the music business. The new service gives the touring musicians, performers and crew direct access to a global network of psychology professionals with first hand experience of working in the music business prior to retraining as specialists in performing arts medicine.

The Welfare Coaching sessions offered by the platform provide a solutions-focused process that focuses on resilience-building, problem solving and practical support to alleviate distress and facilitate emotional relief and personal growth. The service administers the necessary tools for dealing with a variety of issues, including:

• Managing stress and burnout
• Coping with performance pressures (both on and off stage)
• Support with substance dependency and addiction recovery 
• Tackling relational problems and conflict
• Solutions for improving work/life balance and satisfaction
• Development of self-awareness, self-control and self-advocacy
• Managing loneliness and disconnection
• Maintaining physical and psychological health and wellbeing 

• much more

The new online Welfare Coaching service has been developed with connection and encouragement of healthy behaviours at its core. MITC professionals are trained to provide the artists, performers and crew with the right tools for managing their health and wellbeing on the road. Protective factors like these are not just beneficial; they are essential to reducing harmful behaviours, improving socioemotional competence, and helping people regain a sense of being grounded and having purpose.

The Welfare Coaching service is MITC’s latest triumph in the field of tour psychology. The collective of therapists first joined forces in 2017 to combine first-hand music industry experience, academic research and frontline clinical support after identifying a clear and persistent gap in specialist care in the music business. Founded by psychotherapist, ex-tour manager and ex-festival booker Tamsin Embleton, MITC is dedicated to providing specialist support that enables artists and crew to continue to do what they love. 

As a part of their commitment to providing support to as many touring professionals as possible, MITC will distribute any unused appointments to theatre and club tours who might not have the finances to invest in mental health support. This ‘Pay It Forward’ programme allows stadium and arena tours to contribute to the wellbeing of independent artists and those engaging in smaller scale tours with less funding. Any tour that wishes to go one step further has the option to also purchase additional sessions to ‘pay forward’ to smaller tours as well, by making a donation.

HOW DOES IT WORK? 
MITC is a global network, and the purpose-built booking platform shows therapists’ real-time availability, giving touring professionals access to specialist support 24/7, no matter where they are in the world.

Here’s how it works:

• Tours, labels, promoters or venues purchase blocks of discounted sessions in advance.
• Performers and crew receive a private booking link and a unique coupon code.
• Users visit https://mitc.simplybook.it/v2/#, select a time and therapist that suits them, and book a session - all at no cost to the individual.

Sessions are held online, last up to 50 minutes, and are delivered by MITC’s highly qualified and vetted global network of psychotherapists, psychologists and counsellors. Each of their practitioners worked extensively in the music industry before retraining as mental health professionals.

With practitioners based across time zones, the service offers unmatched flexibility and round-the-clock support. It has been specifically designed to meet the unique demands of touring life.

Tamsin Embleton (Founder of The Music Industry Therapist Collective and Editor of Touring and Mental Health: the Music Industry Manual) says: “Since releasing Touring and Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual, we’ve heard from many tours about the pressure they’re under and the lack of support available. Long workdays, constant travel and last-minute schedule changes make it difficult to commit to regular therapy. Yet the need for timely, accessible support is as urgent as ever. Touring is inherently stressful, and pressure builds even when things are going well.

MITC Soundcheck is a collection of services, including touring Welfare Officers, backstage therapy, and wellbeing workshops, designed to help artists, performers and crew feel safe, seen and supported while out on the road. Our latest initiative, the Online Welfare Coaching platform, goes one step further by offering flexible access to specialist support, no matter where you are or what time zone you’re in.

All of our coaches are trained psychotherapists and psychologists with music industry experience, so they can get straight to the heart of an issue. They are also equipped to assess risk and refer to appropriate services when needed, reducing the chance of mental health problems escalating on the road.

We invite industry stakeholders to help us support the next generation of touring talent by backing our Pay It Forward scheme. This will make vital support available to those who need it most, not just those who can afford it.”

Laura Newton (Development and Operations, The Music Industry Therapist Collective) says: "Touring life is relentless - it takes people away from their routines, their relationships, and often their sense of stability. We’ve seen firsthand how difficult it is for artists and crew members to access consistent mental health support while on the road. This new platform is designed to meet them where they are - with flexibility, confidentiality, and care. We believe this kind of support should be standard, not exceptional, and we hope the industry will work alongside us to prioritise wellbeing in their budgets and planning."