Last month I attended the PAMA (Performing Arts Medicine Association) conference and was pleasantly surprised to meet so many individuals who are passionate about helping performers of all kinds.
I half expected to meet a combination of business people selling their services (similar to a farmers’ market) alongside the not for profit, charity sector disseminating their vital work. To my surprise, on the day I attended I was struck by just how many people have a wholesome and vested interest in supporting the health (physical and mental) of all performers regardless of financial profit.
One particular workshop was jointly hosted by Music Minds Matter and BAPAM and explored the various struggles musicians face in their environment and how we can best help this demographic. The workshop culminated in a fantasy offering of 1 million pounds to support musicians as best we saw fit. My own response to this followed on from my doctoral study which outlined a three-tier approach.This approach consisted of personal therapy funding, psychological education and peer groups. It is the same approach that Tonic music has adopted as it has evolved over the years, which feels me with great pride.
One vital component of the three-tier strategy is the educational aspect. I was eager to point out how I believe musicians entering the industry must be primed on the ups and downs of what they may face and how this may impact them. Alongside this, there was discussion of helping non-musicians understand the unique life environments of professional musicians, which is a difficult thing to grasp if you haven’t walked the path. In fact, this was my main goal when I conducted my own research. There was so much objective waffle around but none that really addressed the lived experiences of musicians.
Another exciting event at PAMA was the presentation of Tonic’s research project. The research explores mental health diagnosis of musicians in the music industry. Jeordie Shenton from Tonic rider has been the primary member driving the research and we hope to be publishing the results soon. The research is pioneering as it looks at how many people in the music industry have been diagnosed with a mental health condition either before or during their time as professionals.
This is generally overlooked with vast assumptions often being made at the expense of reducing the experiences of musicians into either being anxious or depressed lacking any nuanced exploration. From my own angle of being a musician (and having loads of friends in the industry) and a clinician it will be a very exciting piece of research. If you want to get involved with this, you can find the link here.
Adam Ficek hosts a monthly show 'Tonic Music' on Totally Wired Radio, where he talks to various guests about music and mental health. You can listen again to any of the previous show on the Tonic Music Mixcloud page.
