In summer 2021, when producer Joanna Laurie was planning production of “The Son,” an upcoming drama from Oscar-winning writer and director Florian Zeller, she knew stress levels would be exponentially high for cast and crew. They had to contend with strict COVID-19 safety protocols and the movie’s difficult subject matter: teenage depression and suicide.
So the London-based producer did something unconventional: She arranged to hire a company that would provide confidential virtual therapy sessions to anyone on set who needed it during shoots in New York, London and France. The program was so popular, she plans to replicate it on other productions.
“We just had to make completely sure that in the process of making a movie about mental health, that we really took total care of the cast and crew who are going to be dealing with this, which is a very sensitive subject,” said Laurie, a producer at See-Saw Films. “I think it’s something that we’ll see a lot more of.”
Regardless of the subject matter, film and TV sets can be stressful and dangerous places to work. The pandemic added a raft of anxieties as cast and crews returned to work to face rigorous safety protocols such as testing, masking and social distancing. The streaming boom put more pressure on film workers as production of new shows spiked and crew worked longer hours to keep up with demand, fueling burnout and rising labor tensions.
As a result, more producers are considering offering therapy services, both on set and virtually, to help film workers cope with on-the-job stress.
Among the beneficiaries is Solas Mind, the British firm hired by See-Saw Films for the Sony released feature “The Son.” The company has developed a digital platform to allow crew members to schedule therapy sessions, and it has worked with studios such as Apple TV and NBC Universal. With a team of 30 counselors and psychotherapists, Solas Mind is looking to expand in the U.S. and Canada to meet demand from producers for its services.
“That sense of isolation where people are away from families, locked down in hotel rooms, all the nice stuff about the industry, the social side, had gone,” said the company’s founder, Sarah McCaffrey. “There was a massive demand for people just to be able to speak to somebody at the end of the working day.” See the rest at the LA Times.
