Tonic Rider is a new programme from the registered charity Tonic Music for Mental Health – promoting good mental health in the music industry.
Many people working in the music industry experience mental health issues. They can be brought on by the highs and the lows, the touring, the late nights, and the lifestyle. The industry can be volatile and competitive, with no financial security. This leaves people vulnerable to developing mental health issues.
Tonic Rider addresses this by providing music industry-specific mental health support with a wide range of online training courses, support groups and taught workshops. These services support music industry professionals with their own mental health, as well as teaching the skills required to help others.
The programme is FREE to ALL music industry professionals and consists of the following courses, groups and workshops:
- Acceptance Commitment Therapy – two and a half hour workshop teaching participants about mindfulness practice and using values to aid mental health.
- Emotional Resilience – two and a half hour workshop teaching participants strategies for coping and regulating emotions in everyday life.
- Mental Health Awareness in the Music Industry – six hour course training music industry professionals about the issues unique to the music industry and how they affect mental health (CPD accredited).
- Mental Health First Aid – two day course training participants how to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue (MHFA England accredited).
- Music Performance Anxiety – two and a half hour workshop teaching participants to identify and manage the effects of anxieties related to performance.
- Peer Support Group – weekly 90 minute group across six weeks supporting participants in an open space to be heard and share their experiences with other music industry professionals (funded by Help Musicians).
- Suicide First Aid Lite – three and a half hour course training participants in the theory and practice of suicide intervention skills that can be applied in professional or personal settings.
- Wellbeing Group – weekly two hour group across six weeks supporting participants with goal-based planning around nutrition, sleep and physical health.
Each course, group and workshop is facilitated by qualified mental health practitioners with music industry experience, using a non-clinical approach for music individuals professionals to support themselves and others.
Alongside the programme, Tonic Rider also provides free mental health resources on the webpage: tonicmusic.co.uk/tonic-rider – including blogs, guides and videos. Examples of these include our ‘Everybody Hurts: Help with Depression’ and ‘Suicide Prevention Safety Plan’ guides.
