The Entertainment Community Fund understands that a life in the arts has its own unique set of challenges. Our free workshops offer a safe and confidential setting where performing arts and entertainment professionals can share and learn, as well as provide and receive support. Our groups are facilitated by social workers and provide valuable assistance and resources. Please read the group descriptions for further details, including how to register.
All of our groups meet online only. We will update this page when we are able to safely offer in-person groups. Please view these tips for preparing if you are unfamiliar with participating in online support groups.
Please note: these groups are not psychotherapy groups and do not provide mental health treatment. If you are seeking mental health services, please visit entertainmentcommunity.org/MentalHealth to learn more and be connected to a social worker.
At this time, our groups are offered only in English.
Please register or log in to our Entertainment Community Fund Portal to access our workshops, programs and services. Our portal is designed to cater to your individual needs and interests, offering access to a wide range of resources and support—all with the guidance and understanding of what it takes to build a life and career in the arts.
- Advance Care Planning for Professionals in Entertainment
Learn how advance directives can protect your healthcare wishes and provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones. This free quarterly presentation explains the purpose of a Healthcare Proxy, Living Will and Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order, along with guidance on completing these important documents. Start the conversation, create a plan and document your choices before a crisis occurs. Due to state professional licensing regulations, this workshop is available only to New York State residents.
- Anxiety Toolbox
Anxiety Toolbox is an hour-long, three-session workshop designed for those in the performing arts and entertainment community experiencing stress and anxiety. This workshop aims to help you understand anxiety symptoms and learn tools to cope with everyday stress and anxiety.
Workshop attendance for all three sessions within this series is required. A laptop or desktop computer is highly recommended due to shared screen and use of PDFs during sessions.
- Beginner’s Guide to Therapy
Beginner’s Guide to Therapy is a one-hour workshop designed to give you an understanding of what types of mental health resources are out there, how to determine which ones might be a good fit and how to access services. Information covered in this workshop includes the different types of mental health providers, the cost of counseling, how insurance can work to ease such costs and what mental health options there are for those who might not be insured.
- Getting Unstuck: How to Navigate Career Change
Performing arts and entertainment professionals often experience a myriad of transitions in their careers. This can lead to stress, burnout and/or feelings of being stuck. This career support group is specifically designed to help performing arts and entertainment professionals identify thoughts that can help you move forward, develop actional steps to get unstuck and process feelings related to career change.
- Guide to Personal Wellness
Gain tools to help you incorporate personal care into your daily life, especially in times of hardship. In this workshop, we will discuss how stress manifests in the body, how we can work to slow the body down and how we can create wellness goals that feel manageable and achievable.
- Lights, Camera, Cognition: Keeping Your Mind Sharp
Offered periodically throughout the year, this series of educational workshops explores simple, daily habits such as staying mentally and physically active, eating and sleeping well, that support brain health.
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
This eight-week educational course uses meditation, gentle yoga and inquiry as a way of training people to relate differently to stresses in their lives. The course was originally developed for patients in chronic pain and has since been shown to be beneficial for dealing with stress and anxiety while improving overall well-being.
- Understanding Social Security: An Overview of Benefits and Eligibility
This workshop is for anyone considering applying for Social Security. It is designed to take the confusion out of the many different options available to begin receiving Social Security income and help you determine which option is best for you.
Topics that will be reviewed:
- When you are eligible to receive retirement benefits
- How early retirement affects your benefits
- The requirements for spousal benefits and survivors’ benefits
- When you should file for Medicare