Reprising Last Year’s Mental Health Campaign: for the second year running, a group of leading charities launch a mental health campaign for early career musicians. The Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) are partnering with the Musicians’ Union (MU), British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM) and Tonic Rider to raise awareness of mental health resources available to early career musicians. 

The month-long campaign runs from April 1st to April 29th, and will include an Introduction to Mental Health webinar from Tonic Rider and 1-2-1 coaching sessions with Marion Friend MBE. There will also be plenty of opportunities to join the conversation on our social channels. All events and resources will be accessible and free of charge. 

Kate Blackstone, Project Manager at YCAT, said:

‘In the last year I have seen musicians being a lot more open to talking about mental health in the industry, which is so key to breaking the taboos that can still exist. That’s why it’s more important than ever to be signposting musicians to sources of advice and support. We are very proud to be reiterating our commitment to the maintenance of Early Career Musicians’ Mental Health.’

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This year, Tonic Rider joins last year’s line-up to provide an Introduction to Mental Health webinar at the end of the month. The webinar will explore common mental health difficulties young classical artists experience, ‬with guidance on how to support ourselves and someone who may be struggling‭.‬ There will also be time for discussion at the end of the webinar.

Jeordie Shenton, Tonic Rider Coordinator, said:

“We are delighted to partner with YCAT and provide a Tonic Rider webinar for their mental health campaign. Young classical artists encounter many stressors as part of the early stages of their career, therefore, it is important to highlight the impact these can have on mental health and teach skills for musicians to support themselves, their colleagues and the wider music community.

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The Musicians’ Union’s Young Freelancers’ Guide to Mental Health in the Music Industry is free to download for non-members, and contains advice on mental health difficulties as well as activities for the maintenance of good mental health. More recently, union members have been concerned about the cost of living crisis and its impact on mental health, something that Rose Delcour-Min, Education and Health and Wellbeing Officer at the Musicians’ Union explains: 

“The UK cost of living crisis is a major concern for us all, and the impact it has on our members’ mental health is just one of the areas it impacts. The Musicians’ Union is committed to helping musicians get help and access the much-needed support and services that protects their careers and their health. We’re delighted to partner again with YCAT for this year’s Mental Health Month, alongside BAPAM, Help Musicians and Tonic Rider, with whom many MU members have already accessed specialist support through their membership benefits.”

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It is especially important for early career musicians to know where to find support all year round, which is why the campaign focuses on resource-sharing in addition to the events. Phoebe Butler, from The British Association of Performing Arts Medicine, details how their organisation can help:

We’re committed to sharing knowledge about healthy and sustainable music practice. Many of the health problems BAPAM help with in our free clinics are preventable, so getting access to the best, evidence informed information is key. We’re delighted to collaborate on this initiative to improve mental health for early career classical artists.

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Musicians’ Mental Health Month runs from April 3rd to April 28th, 2023. For further information about events, please visit our events page.

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Bapam 

Established in 1984, BAPAM is the largest provider of Performing Arts Medicine in the UK with coverage across the four nations. We provide free clinical assessments for performers with health problems affecting their performing arts practice. Our support is focused on specialist clinical assessment to determine the correct diagnosis and best care pathway for a performer, providing clinical advice and referring onwards to experts in the field where necessary. We also run a health education programme with free sessions available online and bespoke sessions which can be booked for individual organisations. You can contacts us www.bapam.org.uk; [email protected] and 020 8167 4775

The Musicians’ Union

The Musicians’ Union (MU) represents over 32,000 musicians working in all sectors and genres of music. As well as negotiating on behalf of its members with all the major employers in the industry, the MU offers a range of services tailored for the self-employed by providing assistance for professional and student musicians of all ages. For more information please visit the MU website.

Tonic Rider

A programme from the registered charity, Tonic Music for Mental Health, with the aim of promoting good mental health in the music industry by providing bespoke training, support and resources. This includes online Peer Support Groups (funded by Help Musicians), Mental Health First Aid and Suicide First Aid Lite courses exclusively for working musicians and music industry professionals. For more information and to download their free mental health zines tailored to the music industry, please visit the Tonic Rider webpage.

YCAT

Founded in 1984, the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) supports the early careers of musicians so they can go on to move generations of audiences around the world with their talent. Every year, music graduates face one of the biggest challenges: being seen and heard within the music industry. At YCAT we discover and support these musicians through the turbulent transition from education to professional life. From our distinguished 3-5 year management of selected YCAT Artists, to our online career development programme for all freelance musicians.