WELLBEING - MORE TO BE DONE ON MENTAL HEALTH

MORE TO BE DONE ON MENTAL HEALTH

Screen Well co-founder Ben Steel outlines the organisation’s plans to bring the screen sector in line with other creative industries when it comes to mental health and wellbeing.

If you told me six years ago that in 2022 I’d no longer be acting or making films, but instead I’d be passionately running a social enterprise (Screen Well) to help improve mental health outcomes for the Australian screen industry – I would not have believed you!

In 2016 I was deep into shooting what would end up being 63 interviews for my documentary The Show Must Go On, which explored the prevalence of mental ill health in Australia’s creative industries. I was in an incredibly dark, anxious, and often a suicidal place – riddled with self-hate and hopelessness. I felt like a massive failure, and that my screen career defined my whole life and identity. Ironically, through the daily routine/process of making the film, receiving precious insights and raw honesty from each interview, working on myself, and being supported from those close to me, including my counsellor and team, making the film literally saved my life and presented a new purpose/mission.

What led me to establishing Screen Well was similar to the instinct I had when The Show Must Go On – just a spark of an idea in my mind. I had a deep feeling in my gut that my industry, our industry, and the people working in it, were severely distressed and struggling quite badly with mental health and wellbeing. Likewise, weeks into COVID hitting our shores, I had an overwhelming sense of the trauma and fear that our collective creative industry was going through. Colleagues from all corners were sharing their experiences, fears, and concerns with me, and seeking answers. Looking at what support and infrastructure was in place to help the creative industries in this time of need, I was crushed.

I realised that the music and the live performance industries were leaps and bounds ahead of the film sector in supporting and helping people navigate mental health challenges. And to be honest, they still are progressing further and further ahead of us to this day. Since this personal realisation, my focus every day has been squarely and solely on doing my best to help move my industry forward.

Screen Well co-founders Margaret Tillson and Ben Steel.

The first iteration of Screen Well was born in response to COVID shutting down our industry in 2020 through four webinars produced by Film Art Media that provided essential support, information and a sense of connectedness, while also kickstarting the mental health conversation in the screen sector.

We officially launched Screen Well as a social enterprise in March 2022, and have since trained 154 screen workers to be mental health first aiders, delivered 13 customised webinars and keynotes, spoken on eight screen industry panels, written seven screen industry articles, created three screen industry best practice guides, and

conducted two research projects. We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved as a small team to improve wellbeing in our industry, but there’s more to be done. So what’s next?

Under the guidance of our advisory group members, Lisa Colley and Monica Davidson, we spent a substantial part of 2022 consulting with industry, auditing and analysing industry reports and research. We also worked with external consultant Liz Norris to form a three-year strategy to improve mental health outcomes.

WHAT WE DISCOVERED

The Australian screen industry is predominantly underpinned by a workforce made up of freelancers, sole traders and small businesses with limited time and resources at their disposal. Running a small business in the creative industries is hard, and there is a lack of formalised training and programs to support mental health, psychological safety and wellbeing. Existing programs from alternate industries are not fit for purpose and are missing the lived experience of screen workers, and therefore are less engaging and less effective.

Additionally, the nature of creating filmed content can be a vulnerable, confronting, and demanding process. Over many decades, some of our industry cultures have evolved to produce an abundance of negative mental health outcomes. As Entertainment Assist and Victoria University’s 2016 landmark research put: “There is a powerful, negative culture within the industry including a toxic, bruising working environment; extreme competition; bullying; sexual assault; sexism and racism.”

Historically, the screen industry lacks frameworks and processes to translate the complexities of various layers of government legislation on psychological health and best practice standards into actionable workplace practices. This results in many small business owners not knowing what to do, even though they have a real will to create improved outcomes for the health and safety of our industry. All of this canlead to increased mental health issues, people leaving the sector, and even loss of life.

REASONS THE INDUSTRY NEEDS TO ACT NOW

• Since October 2022, under new NSW WHS legislation (but soon to follow in other states and territories), psychosocial risks must be managed like physical risks. There is now visibility, investment, and active enforcement by regulators across Australian jurisdictions of psychosocial risks. Organisations across the screen industry need to act on this policy change or risk severe penalties and possible legal action.

• Through the Australian Cinematographers Society’s A Wider Lens report, and Screen Well’s Australian Screen Directors

Ben Steel (left) and Peter George at JMC Academy in Melbourne, doing a wellbeing chat for students.

Work/Life Balance Survey, and others; there is a growing evidence base that Australian screen industry workplaces have numerous psychosocial stressors that may be contributing to the alarming rates of suicide, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and substance use disorders. These have a real human cost but also contribute substantially to loss of productivity and worker retention issues. Our emerging and established talent are regularly leaving the industry from severe fatigue and/or because they are being treated poorly.

• The Australian screen industry is highly regarded globally for many reasons, but we are lagging behind other global centres (such as the UK) when it comes to improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes for our screen workers. Additionally, the Australian screen industry is falling behind our brothers and sisters in other Australian creative industries when it comes to: investing in psychological health and safety of our workforce and workplaces, promoting positive mental health and wellbeing, providing training, resources and support.

SCREEN WELL’S THREE-YEAR STRATEGY

Our three-year impact strategy is underpinned by a meaningful theory of change framework. We analysed the mental health challenges the screen industry faces and identified three focus areas that need improvement: work conditions, work cultures, and the wider sector.

We will create positive impact through initiatives that deliver across one or more of our four key objective pillars:

• Strengthen Awareness

• Increase Support Build Skills

• Change Behaviours

Over the three-year period, Screen Well will use ten different metrics, ranging from short-term to medium-term tools, to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of our initiatives and our progress. This robust process will enable us to refine and adjust our initiatives to help achieve our desired outcomes. Our core activities will be:

• Consultation

• Research

• Procedure

• Training Advocacy

We are excited to announce our key initiatives for 2023 are:

• The inaugural Screen Well Awards

• Leadership and Culture Change

– research project

• Mental Health First Aid – training tranche 3

• Mental Health Essentials for the Screen Sector – eLearning modules

• Wellbeing Procedures for the Screen Sector – guide Screen Well is interested in hearing from sector stakeholders such as film agencies, broadcasters, streamers, post and production companies that want to know more about the strategy, and those that would like to pledge their support.

Please be advised that this article contains descriptions of mental disorders that some readers might find distressing. If you have been impacted by this material, please reach out for support. Support Act Wellbeing Helpline1800 959 500 | Lifeline 13 11 14