Wellbeing in the Arts

08/07/2025

Our mental health and wellbeing surgery on Wednesday 30th July provides an opportunity for you to book a single session of counselling with one of our experienced Counsellors (Emma Nicholson).

You can use your slot to discuss any issue(s), whether they are of a personal or professional nature.

Your session can be a one-off or the entry point to longer-term counselling, and is ideal for those people who are unsure whether counselling is for them, or how the process works.

Sessions are online and last for 50 minutes.

All our work is 100% confidential, so no-one will know that you have accessed our support, including your employer.

Upon booking your slot, you will be sent a short online assessment form to complete, which will give you an opportunity to tell us a little about your background and circumstances, and help us to prepare for your session.

A link to the virtual room will be sent before the day of the surgery.

You can book your ticket here:

https://www.wellbeinginthearts.org.uk/event/mental-health-and-wellbeing-surgery/

08/07/2025

Join us for our upcoming 'Self-belief and confidence for true, authentic career performance and personal growth' workshop, which is taking place online at 3pm on Wednesday 16th July 2025.

Tickets are priced at £7.50 each and can be purchased via this link: https://www.wellbeinginthearts.org.uk/event/self-belief-and-confidence/

Trusting yourself to BE yourself as a creative is the key to unlocking true freedom of expression, energy and financial wellbeing too.

But, what does “being yourself” even mean?! This workshop is for anyone interested in improving their self-belief and confidence in service of more authentic engagement with their work performance, career growth and overall wellbeing.

In this workshop we will strip back the layers of unconscious self-censorship in your work alongside the self-consciousness you might feel in performance that hold you back from true self-expression, intuition and instinct, in a fun and playful way!

You will improve self-trust, self-acceptance, self-belief and confidence alongside plugging the holes in your career strategy to leave you celebrating your unique qualities as a human and performer.

We will energy clear the heaviness you feel, reducing stress and anxiety, so you can feel re-energised, excited and focused on creating a career that sustains energy, fulfils your deeper needs and ensures you thrive for the long term no matter what curveballs lie ahead.

The workshop is being led by , a High Performance, Mindset and Confidence Coach, who specialises in helping ambitious creatives breakthrough fears of success, failure, and everything in between.

Her experience as a professional actor, ICF NLP Master Practitioner and background in fitness, nutrition and yoga brings a unique twist to her life and career coaching approaches.

She fully understands the challenges those in the arts face and her 24 years coaching experience enables her to powerfully empower those she works with to fully unlock their true potential, so they thrive personally and professionally for the long term.

This workshop is for anyone interested in improving their self-belief and confidence in service of more authentic engagement with their work performance, career growth and overall wellbeing...

01/07/2025

We are delighted to announce our exciting new programme of events for the summer that includes workshops, surgeries and much more!

Highlights include:

Performance, mindset and confidence coach Kate Sterling will be running a workshop on the 16th July that will explore how you can improve your self-belief and confidence.

On the 6th August, leadership development coach Laura Cloke will be hosting a workshop aimed at helping you to develop your career.

If you are struggling with your mental health, but don’t have the time for long-term counselling, aren’t sure how it works, or have a particular issue that you would like to discuss, our surgeries allow you to book a single session with one of our experienced Practitioners.

You can find out more information about all of our upcoming events and book your tickets here: https://wellbeinginthearts.org.uk/events/

30/06/2025

We are launching a new seasonal newsletter that will feature our latest news, information on upcoming events, mental health and wellbeing resources, and much more.
You can subscribe here: http://eepurl.com/jhOArQ

27/06/2025

We believe that access to wellbeing support should be available to everyone working on theatre, film and TV productions (as well as live events, festivals, etc), as these are often high-pressured environments where stress levels are high, burnout is common, and content can trigger past trauma and challenging emotions.

Investing in high quality wellbeing support not only helps to create a happier and healthier workforce, improving creativity and productivity, but also saves valuable money and resources by reducing the risk of losing performances and filming days to mental ill health and having to find short-term replacements for absent staff.

Our diverse team of specialised Wellbeing Practitioners are all trained, experienced mental health professionals with a background in the creative industries, and offer a personalised, proactive and preventative approach that provides a safe space for individuals to access the support they need, as well as empowering them to build resilience and develop tools for self-regulation and self-care.

We can tailor the support we provide to meet the needs of every production and prioritise creating a familiarity and connection between our team and those we are working with, so as many people as possible feel comfortable accessing the support available.

Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) can also be used to provide an additional level of specialised care to productions.

27/06/2025

If you work in the creative industries and are struggling with your mental health and wellbeing, we can help.

Counselling

We provide access to a diverse range of over 125 student and trained, experienced Counsellors, all of whom are registered with the BACP or UKCP, are based across the UK, and have a knowledge and understanding of the unique challenges of working in the creative industries.

Sessions start from £25 each and our team will be able to work with you on any issue, be it personal or professional, from anxiety, depression and stress through to addiction, trauma and eating disorders.

We will ask you to complete a short online assessment form, which will allow us to develop an understanding of your background and circumstances, as well as provide you with an opportunity to stipulate who you would like to work with in terms of a Counsellors’ age, gender, ethnicity, specialisms, lived experiences, etc.

Every effort will be made to schedule your counselling sessions around your work and personal commitments.

Coaching

We offer access to a diverse range of specialised Coaches, all of whom are based across the UK, and have a background in the creative industries.

Our Coaches can help you to build resilience to stress, prevent burn out, develop a more sustainable work – life balance, achieve your personal and professional goals, and much more.

Artist Support

Our diverse team of experienced Practitioners understand how demanding it can be to work in the creative industries.

Whether you are working on a personal piece that has emotional triggers, are engaged with a community group that has complex needs, or would simply like a safe space to off-load, our skilled team are here to listen and advise you on how you can protect your mental health and wellbeing.

Sessions are available online only.

All our services are 100% confidential and no-one will know that you have spoken with us.

Our team are here to listen, not judge, and will do everything we can to help.

27/06/2025

Through our industry specific Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), we are able to support the mental health and wellbeing of your organisation, including freelancers and casual workers, ensuring you save valuable money and resources by reducing the number of staff hours lost to sick leave, improving productivity, and helping to create a happier and healthier workplace.

We offer a variety of services including online sessions with a diverse range of over 125 student and experienced, BACP or UKCP registered Counsellors and Coaches, all of whom have a knowledge and understanding of the unique challenges of working in the creative industries.

Membership of our EAP means there are no waiting lists, so those in need of support would be able to begin work with their allocated Practitioner within two weeks (sooner in cases of emergency), and can use their sessions to discuss any issue(s) they are struggling with, be it related to their personal and / or professional life.

Your team will also be able to access our regular workshops, talks and events, group sessions, surgeries, live telephone, email and text support, signposting to financial, legal and practical advice, online and printed resources, monthly newsletter and much more.

Our personalised service is 100% confidential, meaning that individuals can speak with us about their mental health and wellbeing without having to go through their employer, but our quarterly reporting ensures that you are always aware of the level of usage, common themes arising, etc.

We have built our service so that it can be moulded to fit the needs of organisations of all shapes and sizes.

27/06/2025

Introducing our Ambassador Kit de Waal.

Kit is an award-winning author. Her debut novel, My Name Is Leon, was an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize, and winner of the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award for 2017. In 2022, it was adapted for television by the BBC.

Kit’s second novel, The Trick to Time, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize and her young adult novel Becoming Dinah was shortlisted for the Carnegie CLIP Award 2020.

A collection of short stories, Supporting Cast, was published in 2020, and an anthology of working-class memoir, Common People, was crowdfunded and edited by herself in 2019.

Kit founded her own TV production company, Portopia Productions, as well as the Big Book Weekend, a free digital literary festival in 2020.

She was named the Future Book Person of the Year 2019 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a Professor and Writer in Residence at Leicester University.

Her memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes was published in August 2022, and her latest work The Best of Everything was released in April 2025.

Kit said, ‘It’s such a privilege to be appointed an Ambassador for Wellbeing in the Arts who are helping everyone in our industry look after their mental health – even when we can’t afford it. It’s never been more important to have this kind of support, and I’m delighted to be part of the organisation’.

27/06/2025

An introduction to our Ambassador Nicholas Pinnock.

Nicholas is a renowned film, television and theatre actor with a career spanning over 30 years.

His extensive list of credits includes roles in recent films Here (Miramax) and The Book of Clarence (Legendary Pictures / Tristar), as well in the TV series Django (Sky Atlantic), For Life (ABC) and Top Boy (Channel 4 / Netflix).

He has also enjoyed critical success in long running theatrical productions at venues such as the Royal Court in London and the Glasgow Citizen’s Theatre.

Nicholas is a passionate advocate for mental health support in the creative industries and has often spoken openly about his own personal battles with his mental health.

He is also an Ambassador for Mind, the mental health charity.

Nicholas said ‘Due to my own mental health issues, it became very clear to me that I was feeling the weight of my characters trauma vicariously, I’ve cried on set more times than I can remember, and whilst I was putting in place plans myself to provide the support I would like to see in the industry, I came across Wellbeing in the Arts, who had gone ahead and done everything that I think is needed.

I could not be prouder to become one of their Ambassadors in a hope that I can add to the great work they have done already to give people in the creative industries the help they truly need’.

26/06/2025

It was an absolute pleasure to support the mental health and wellbeing of the company of A Thousand Splendid Suns, who have now completed their run having visited , and .

Our Wellbeing Practitioner was with the production throughout (including at all tour venues) providing personalised, proactive and preventative care, ensuring that everyone working on the show had access to the support they needed.

26/06/2025

Congratulations to the company of An Inspector Calls who have just finished their mammoth UK tour playing to sold out venues across the country.

Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provided mental health and wellbeing support to everyone working on the show from the first day of rehearsals through to the last performance by offering access to specialised counselling, coaching and artist support, as well as much more.

14/06/2025

Welcome to Wellbeing in the Arts.

We provide mental health and wellbeing support to organisations, productions and individuals across the creative industries by offering access to counselling, coaching, wellbeing practitioners, workshops, mental health first aid training and much more.

Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) helps organisations large and small to look after their staff, including freelancers, whilst our specialised Practitioners are able to offer on the ground support to theatre, film and TV productions (as well as live events and festivals).

Individuals can also self-refer into our service and access our diverse team of over 125 student and experienced Counsellors and Coaches, all of whom have a knowledge and understanding of the unique challenges of working in our industry.

Sessions start from £25, can be organised around your work and personal commitments, and you will be able to begin work with your allocated Practitioner within two weeks (sooner in cases of emergency).

All our support is personalised, non-judgemental and 100% confidential.

For more information, please visit: http://wellbeinginthearts.org.uk.