NZ Music Foundation’s Wellbeing Service claims early success

The New Zealand Music Foundation Wellbeing Service was set up to offer free support to members of the NZ music industry suffering illness, distress and hardship.

After six months of operation, the organisation is already claiming a strong success rate, building on the work of similar initiatives in Australia such as Support Act Ltd and Entertainment Assist.

The Foundation said the response had exceeded expectations, fielding 50 calls since its launch in late September 2016. Some calls came from NZ acts based in Australia.

62% of callers were composers, songwriters and performers, while 60% of callers seeking support were women.

The most prevalent causal factors for seeking support have been emotional and psychological distress, followed by grief, health and serious career-related issues.

The Service has delivered over 20 specialised in-person support sessions from registered counsellors and specialist psychologists.

According to its General Manager, Peter Dickens, “We’ve worked hard to listen to the voices of those making their way in music in New Zealand. It’s a vibrant, vital and exciting industry.”

The Wellbeing Service was established in response to the results of the New Zealand Music Community Wellbeing Survey conducted by the charity last July.

With 1350 participants, it found that NZ songwriters, composers and performers reported having attempted suicide at a rate more than double that of the general population.

Over a third reported having been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, almost double the incidence rate of the general population.

Songwriters and composers are two and a half times as likely to have been diagnosed with depression in comparison to numbers from the general population.

Over half of both men and women who participated experienced a drinking problem at some point in their career. This was markedly higher compared to national figures showing 25% of NZ men and 11% of NZ women who indicated the same problem.

84% of survey participants reported experiencing stress in the past 12 months that has impacted on their ability to function day to day.

Rock act Shihad reported in their ranks, they’ve had a drug overdose resulting in death (one of their managers), two divorces and three nervous breakdowns.

R&B singer Aaradhna, of Brown Girl fame, admitted she was prone to depression, which at times brought her close to walking away from music. However, she has been able used the low moments positively to spark her music.

“Some days I doubt myself and my whole career but other days I feel confident as hell and nothing can stop me,” she revealed to Stuff.co.nz. “I have my ups and downs.”