NZ Foundation Offers Counseling Service

The New Zealand Music Foundation – which provides support to local music industry personnel undergoing illness, distress and hardship – has launched what it is call the world’s first well-being service for the music industry community.

It is a free 24-hour online, phone and in-person counseling service specifically tailored to the music community. The service comes as a response to the alarming results of the New Zealand Music Community Wellbeing Survey conducted by the charity in July with more than 1,350 participants.

Artists’ attempts at suicide are double that of the country’s population. More than one-third of songwriters, composers and performers have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, again double the rate of the general population, and 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with depression. Some 84 percent experienced such stress in the past 12 months that it affected their ability to function day to day.

The charity’s general manager, Peter Dickens, commented, “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 and we’re very proud to be able to launch this service. We hope it will further support kiwi music people to enjoy healthy, productive and fulfilling lives in their chosen careers.”