Touring May Have Stopped, but Mental Health Issues Remain for Touring Musicians

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted more aspects of the music industry than just recording and performing; it has also interrupted a scientific study aimed at better understanding and therefore treating mental health issues affecting touring musicians. After six months on hiatus, however, the Tour Health Research Initiative recently restarted collecting data through its online survey, seeking input from musicians in every genre of touring—from theatre to classical to rock, folk, and more. Results are expected to be announced in spring 2021.

“We know touring has adverse impacts on people who do it for a living, and I hope that by the end of analyzing all the data we will be able to understand what the key factors are that challenge and impact musicians’ mental health—what drives that,” says Dr. Chayim Newman, clinical psychologist and co-founder of the Tour Health Research Initiative (THRIV). “This will then allow us to be able to help people tour in a healthier way, where there can be less burnout, fewer people struggling with substance abuse, and lower levels of depression and anxiety; and then touring becomes a much more appealing thing to do in the long term.”

Read the rest of the interview on internationalmusician.org.