On setOn-Set Wellness Support for Film and Television Productions. What discreet support on a shoot looks like, and how to set it up well.

Film and television work is demanding by design. Days run long. Call times shift. People sleep in hotels, eat at odd hours and spend weeks away from the routines and people that keep them steady. Add the pressure of performing and a schedule where every hour costs money, and even a healthy person can start to fray.

For some people the risk is higher. A cast or crew member may be in early recovery from alcohol or drug use. Someone may be living with anxiety, depression or another mental health condition that is well managed at home but harder to manage on location. A person may be coming back to work after time in treatment. The job itself is not the problem. The change in routine, easy access to alcohol and distance from a usual support system can be.

Productions also think about the shoot as a whole. When one key person struggles, the schedule, the budget and the rest of the team feel it. Insurance and completion concerns can come into the conversation too, in general terms: the people responsible for a production want to know there is a plan if someone needs help. On-set support is one way to put that plan in place, with care for the person at the center of it.

A general example: a lead actor with a year of recovery is cast in a project shooting out of state for two months. The actor, their manager and the producers agree early that a support person will travel with the production. The support is part of the plan from day one.

Most engagements include some mix of the following.

• One-on-one support for a cast or crew member: regular check-ins, help keeping healthy routines, someone to talk to between setups and after wrap.
• Coordination with outside clinicians: keeping in touch, with consent, with the person’s own therapist, psychiatrist or doctor so care continues while they are away from home.
• Help with the basics: sleep, meals, rest days, getting to support meetings or appointments in a new city, and planning around events where alcohol will be served.
• Crisis response: a clear plan for what happens if someone is in distress, including who gets called, in what order, and when to call 911.
• Continuity planning: thinking ahead about how the shoot can keep moving if a person needs a day off, a change in schedule or more help.

Good support is discreet. The support person should blend in, keep a low profile on set and never draw attention to the person they are there for. Most of the crew may never know why they are there.

Support can work for crew, not only talent. If someone is living with both a substance use issue and a mental health condition, our guide to co-occurring disorders explains why both need attention at the same time.

Support works best when the person wants it. Support that feels like surveillance breaks trust fast. The ideal setup is one the cast or crew member helped design, with their manager, agent or family involved only as they choose.

Be clear in writing about who learns what. A common approach is that the production hears only what it needs for scheduling and safety. That might be whether the person is fit to work on a given day, but not the details of their health or history. Personal and clinical details stay with the person and the clinicians they choose to share them with.

• Ask the person to sign releases before any information is shared with their outside providers.
• Agree on what the production will and will not be told, and by whom.
• Agree on what happens if there is a safety concern. Safety can override privacy, and everyone should know that ahead of time.
• Keep the circle small. Only the people who truly need to know should know support is in place.

If the person agrees to drug or alcohol testing as part of the plan, it should be voluntary and the results should go only to the people the person has agreed to share them with. Our guide on how drug and alcohol monitoring works covers the basics.

Start with these questions and write down the answers.

• Length: is support needed for prep, the full shoot, press or a short window after wrap? The weeks right after a shoot ends can be hard, so think about the handoff home.
• Locations: one city, several locations, international travel? Who arranges travel and lodging for the support person?
• Hours: is support needed on set during call hours, after wrap, overnight, or on call by phone? Days off often matter as much as shoot days.
• Reporting: who does the support person answer to? Usually this is the person receiving support, with a named point of contact on the production side, such as a producer or line producer, for scheduling and safety only.
• Outside care: who are the person’s current clinicians, and how often will the support person be in touch with them?
• Crisis plan: who is called in an emergency, where is the nearest emergency room at each location, and who has the authority to adjust the schedule?

A good engagement ends with a handoff to the person’s ongoing care at home. Our guide to relapse warning signs is a useful read for anyone supporting a person in recovery through a big change.

• What experience do you have working on productions or in other high-pressure, high-visibility settings?
• Who exactly will be on site, and what is their training and background?
• How do you handle confidentiality, and will you sign the production’s NDA?
• How do you work with a person’s own therapist, psychiatrist or doctor?
• What is your crisis plan, and when do you bring in emergency services?
• Who do you report to, and what will the production be told?
• What is your backup if the support person is sick or needs a break?
• How do you handle the end of the engagement and the handoff home?
• What do you not do? A good provider is clear about their limits.

Be wary of any provider who promises outcomes, makes clinical claims they cannot back up or seems more interested in being on set than in the person they are there to support. Our guide on how to vet a treatment program covers many of the same warning signs.

Blackburn Consulting provides discreet on-set support for film and television productions, including on-location support for talent and crew, coordination of care with outside providers, and crisis response and continuity planning. You can learn more on the Blackburn Consulting page.

A support person can help someone stay steady, keep routines and reach the right help quickly. They do not diagnose, prescribe or treat. Health decisions belong to the person and their own licensed clinicians.

It is also not a guarantee. No provider can promise that a person will stay well. Support helps keep small problems small and puts a plan in place if one grows.

Some situations need medical care first. Stopping alcohol or benzodiazepines suddenly can be medically dangerous. If a cast or crew member plans to stop drinking or using before or during a shoot, they should talk to a doctor first. If someone shows signs of a mental health crisis or talks about hurting themselves, do not wait for a support person. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. In an emergency, call 911.

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: home page
• SAMHSA: National Helpline
• CDC NIOSH: Stress and work
• OSHA: Workplace stress overview
• Mental Health America: Workplace wellness resources

Talk first with the person who would receive support. Their buy-in matters more than anything else. Then bring in their manager or agent and the producer or line producer who will be the production’s point of contact.

If you would like to talk it through, our Where to start page can help, or call us at (888) 305-5422 or email info@theblackburngroup.org.

If someone is in crisis right now, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. In an emergency, call 911.

Related help in Los Angeles: Discreet support for executives and public figures. Or call (888) 305-5422.

• Relapse Warning Signs and What to Do
• Co-Occurring Disorders
• How Drug and Alcohol Monitoring Works

All guides →