Emergency Resources — Call 988
988 is a phone number to help in a mental health crisis. Similar to 911, this line is dedicated for anyone in need of mental health assistance of any kind. Please share so others know this resources is out there anytime they need crisis support. #SuicideAwareness
Wellness Resources — Classes, Podcasts, Apps and more
More than You See – Podcast and Mental Health Toolkit
More Than You See is a podcast and resource library that is designed to help you build your own Mental Health Toolkit. It has a compilation of articles, Ted Talks, YouTube videos and a weekly podcast about mental health. It isn’t specific to young performers, but it is specific to entertainment industry creatives. It was founded by Deborah Lee Smith, who is an actor, filmmaker and mental health advocate. .After going through her own deep depression, she realized it was a toolkit of podcasts, songs, videos and books that helped pull her through (along with her therapist).
Mental Health First Aid Training — Free Courses for Adults and Teens
This 8-hour course (offered in person, virtual or blended) to help you identify, understand and respond to teen mental health issues. There are separate courses for adults and teens. Thanks to the Kate Spade (sister of David Space) , artists, entertainers and industry professionals in the NYC/New Jersey area are offered this training for FREE. Others all over the country may find a course by searching here.
Entertainment Industry Fund Looking Ahead Program (Los Angeles and New York)
Looking Ahead supports professional young performers (actors, dancers, musicians, etc.) in developing the values, skills and confidence they need to make successful transitions to fulfilling adult lives. It is facilitated by LCSWs and MSW staff. Services offered nationally include Individual, family and group counseling, industry and educational workshops for young performers and families, educational counseling to help create an action plan for the future, volunteer opportunities for participants to make a commitment to serving the community, in-person group activities for young performers in Los Angeles and New York to connect with others in the industry.
Looking Ahead is open to professional young performers ages 9 – 18 (union members and those non-union performers who meet an income threshold of professional work).
Lee Thompson Young Foundation (LTYF) Mindfulness Box and Parent Workshops
An Alpharetta, Georgia-based non-profit organization founded by the family of Lee Thompson Young, most famous for his leading role in Disney Channel’s first original series, The Famous Jett Jackson. He went to USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and appeared in numerous other films and TV shows, most recently as a series regular on TNT’s Rizzoli & Isles. He lost his life to suicide in 2013 as a result of mental illness. The Foundation focusses on the mental health of children and adolescents, specifically of those with giftedness.
LTYF offers a Mindfulness Box ($59.97) that includes mental health and stress relieving items. There is also a companion Facebook group, a parent workshop for parenting a child with mental illness, and a book: Surviving the Mental Health tank: 5 Keys to Cultivating Emotional Well Being for Yourself and Your Loved Ones by Tamu Lewis (Lee Thompson Young’s sister).
Coping Skills for Kids
A super practical site to learn how to help little kids handle big feelings. There are resources and tips on topics like “Calming Anxiety”, “Handling Stress”, and “Does My Child Need a Therapist”. They also offer tools like fidget spinners, workbooks, and a resource library and online classes for parents.
Movement Genius / Artist Wellbeing Essentials
Classes on demand, weekly live classes, quarterly workshops. For less than $80 a year. Classes are designed by a diverse range of psychotherapists and experts who incorporate evidence-based techniques proven to reduce stress, release tension and support mood and mindset. Founded by former child actor Alyson Stoner and her sister Correy O’Neal.
In 2025 Alyson, in conjuction with Cristi Williams (mom to Hayley Williams of Paramore) produced a digital toolkit for young performer mental wellness called Artist Wellbeing Essentials. This package of online education is currently offered at $399. Please note that Bizparentz has not reviewed this program. As with any mental health practioners you allow to influence your child, take extra care to note the educational qualifications and philosophies of those who create the program, the required certifications such as Krekorian Act bonds and Child Performer Services Permits, and take moment to review this page about how to find the right therapist.
Kati Morton, LMFT – Podcast, Books, Website
Kati appeared with former child actors on the Pod Meets World podcast, discussing child trauma that happened in the entertainment industry decades ago. We knew listening to her, that she “gets it”.
Here’s the Pod Meets World episode – highly recommend! Note: discusses child sexual abuse. Read her books, Traumatized, and Are U OK? A Guide to Caring for Your Mental Health.
Soluna App – The Free Mental Health Glow Up App
The State of California pays for this app for teens and young adults ages 13-25. If offers 1:1 coaching, interactive tools to destress, peer connections and self-discovery. It is all free, and completely anonymous. No subscription, limits or labels.
Search Platforms to Find a Therapist
ChildMind Institute Directory (New York and San Francisco)
ChildMind Institute is a non-profit dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need. They have become the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health, delivery educational resources and clinical care to millions of families each year. They do not have a specific bent for young performers. They do have a directory on their site where you can search for specific clinicians by location and specialty.
Behind the Scenes Entertainment Industry Therapist Finder
This site links to Good Therapy. Once you get there, make sure to check the search filters to be Entertainment Industry AND Children and Teens.
Teen Counseling.com, a division of Better Help
Good Therapy
Also has a blog with parent-focused articles
Psychology Today Therapist Search
Hello Alma
*click on “more filters” and find the age group for your child
ONLINE THERAPY
For Teens
Talkspace for Teens
Teen Counseling.com
(Parents work with the platform to pre-screen potentional therapists for their child)
List of Top 10 Online Therapy Platforms for Kids:
Details about Talkiatry, Little Otter, and others
Books
A Non-Intimidating Place to Start? Read a Book!
Parenting Talent: The Grownup Guide by Dr. Alaina Johnson
If you buy just one book, this is it! Dr. Johnson is insightful and you will see your child in the case studies, along with very practical tips to help your child from a therapist’s point of view. It also includes a great section to guide you in your decisions about social media for your young performer. If you are looking for a really good guide to your creative kid’s brain, you have found it here! Parenting creative kids who are in the industry isn’t always easy. Alaina has three kids in the arts, one performed on Broadway. She knows the drill. A must-read for all showbiz parents! Coaching by Dr. Alaina Johnson https://parentingtalent.com/coaching-vs-therapy/
Raising Mentally Strong Kids: How to Combine the Power of Neuroscience with Love and Logic to Grow Confident, Kind, Responsible and Resilient Children and Young Adults by Daniel G. Amen, M.D. and Charles Fay, PhD.
Calming Skills for Kids Ages 8-12: Fun Activities for Kids to Master Emotions, Control Anger, and Soothing Exercises to Relax by B. Nicholson
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt
Why Smart People Hurt: A Guide for the Bright, the Sensitive, and the Creative by Eric Maisel
Note: this book is primarily about the search for deeper meaning in a person’s life, and how important it is to gifted/creative people. It includes coping strategies to make a meaningful life.
Protecting the Gift by Gavin De Becker
Bizparentz has recommended this book since our founding. It is a crucial book about trusting your instincts and one all parents should read — not just those in the industry. De Becker is a security expert and three-time presidential appointee. His protects and advises many of the world’s most prominent public figures. He knows how to keep people safe, and in this book, he lays out what parents should know and how they can spot predators.
Resources Specific to Gifted Children
Not all child actors are gifted in the clinical, intellectual sense. but many are. We have noticed that even if a child performer is not considered “gifted”, the challenges are similar: both have unusual aspirations and the children tend to thrive in the adult world. Because of the similarities, we have found that professionals who recognize and value traits in a gifted child often work well with professional performers too.
Gifted Development Center (national, but based in CO), specializes in assessment, advocacy and resources for gifted children.
Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
(Mental Health and Wellness section)
Mental Health Professionals
Who Work With Young Performers and/or Entertainment Industry Clients
(alphabetical)
Note: Listing does not imply Bizparentz endorsement. It only means that a parent with a professional young performer used them and suggested them to us. This list is intended as a resource from which to begin your search. We suggest you familiarize yourself with the various types of mental health professionals and their licensing, and review this article about how to find a great therapist. In short, due diligence is required! Have a great experience with a mental health professional? We’d love to hear it. Please email bizparentzfoundation@gmail.com.
Jeff Blume, PhD , Psychologist (Los Angeles)
Adapt Therapy Centers
9107 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 301 Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: (310) 273-1372
Not child-specific, but focuses on Hollywood entertainment industry creatives. Was quoted in Hollywood Reporter in article called Why Hollywood Bosses are so Mean (Bullying)
Bill Harrison (Chicago)
email: counselorbill1@gmail.com
Licensed professional counselor on staff at the Claret Center in Chicago, where he specializes in the treatment of performing artists.
Dr. Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D. LMFT (Los Angeles)
(213) 514-8936
Has a son who is a performer.
Andrew Mahoney, MS, LPC, LMFT (IL, MI, Virtual)
Counseling the Gifted specializes in counseling for gifted and talented children. He founded the Center for Identity Potential
Matthew McClean Therapy, LMFT (Los Angeles)
Not kid specific but specializes in TV/film professionals
https://www.matthewmcleantherapy.com/therapy-for-tv-film-entertainment
Dennis Palumbo, MA, MFT (Los Angeles)
Specializes in creatives. He is a former screenwriter, and continues to write novels. Writes Hollywood on the Couch column for Psychology Today.
email: dennis@dennispalumbo.com
818-386-2070.
S. Novie Payne, Acting Out Loud Therapy, LPC, CAGCS (Mt. Pleasant, SC)
A licensed clinical therapist with Acting Out Loud Therapy, which provides adolescent therapy. Prior to opening Acting Out Loud Therapy in Mount Pleasant, she was a casting director in Los Angeles. A native Californian who worked as a producer and casting director for both television and film. In therapy, it’s called self-actualization. She also has a specialty in grief counseling.
Dr. Philip Pierce, PhD (Los Angeles)
Licensed clinical psychologist specializing in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Therapy for the Entertainment Industry. Not specifically child related.
Dr Mark Seton, PhD through the Actors Wellbeing Academy (Australia)
Not directed at children, but a valuable resource as it trains actors to emotionally do their work, without doing damage to their own mental health.
Melissa Sornik LCSW Network (New York)
Group practice focusing on gifted and 2E (twice exceptional, meaning they are identified as both gifted, and with a disability) children
https://www.melissasorniklcsw.com/about
Bobby Steggert,LMSW (New York)
Instagram @bobbysteggertmsw or email him at bobbysteggert.msw@gmail.com
A Tony-nominated actor with extensive credits on and Off Broadway (Ragtime, Big Fish, Yank! etc), he switched careers, and got a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University. Three-fourths of his clients, he tells me, are “actors, singers, dancers, directors, writers, or designers,” he comes to the therapy relationship with “warmth, humor, and a solution-focused approach.”
Jeff Sumpolec, LPCC (Los Angeles)
Santa Clarita a licensed professional counselor with two professional daughters of his own. Best for older teens and young adults.
jsvictorycounseling@gmail.com
Victory Mountain Psychotherapy, Inc.
(626) 329-4812
Dr. Fran Walfish, MFT (Los Angeles)
Media expert and the author of The Self-Aware Parent.
West Coast Counseling Center (Los Angeles)
Jody Frank and Cindy Busto are Licensed Clinical Social Workers, the directors of WCCLA and are contributors to the Hollywood Mom Blog. One of their specialties is entertainment industry work.
310-475-0223
On Set and Production Support
Kind Minds Collective
https://kindmindscollective.com/
Founded by former child actor Jordan Bobbitt, LMSW, Kind Minds Collective is a mental wellness hub designed to center emotional intelligence, community, and creativity. They fuse mental health expertise
with creative fluency to offer support that’s affirming, trauma informed, and creatively engaging. Whether through concierge services, trainings (such as keynotes or on-set wellness consultation for entertainment teams), creative consultations to production, or personalized consultation for clients navigating complex care needs, they make mental wellness approachable, relevant and something you actually want to engage with. As an example, for productions, they offer The Production Pulse, a three-phase production wellness assessment to improve psychological safety, prevent burnout, and support long-term success for everyone.
Intimacy Coordination
https://www.idcprofessionals.com/for-tvfilm
It may seem like child actors would not be doing “sex scenes” so they wouldn’t need an intimacy coordinator, but like adult professionals, kid actors also can request an intimacy coordinator for things like “first kisses” and other intimate moments. They can be a wonderful preventative resource for child actors on set. Intimacy coordinators are NOT licensed therapists, and should not be expected to serve that function. They are certified through very specific courses.
On Set Psychological Services for Film and Television Productions (UK based, but say they do North America)
https://onsetwelfare.com/category/productions/
Marci Liroff, Certified Intimacy Coordinator
https://www.marciliroffic.com/
Zuri Pryor-Graves, On Set Therapist (Atlanta)
https://zuripryorgraves.com/on-set-therapist-for-tv-and-film/
SAG-AFTRA Intimacy Coordinator Registry List
The SAG-AFTRA list builds on the Standards and Protocols for the Use of Intimacy Coordinators originally introduced in 2020. The lists are only provided s a resource for employers and are not intended to imply and endorsement by SAG-AFTRA. They only confirm that the minimum requirements have been met.
Association of Mental Health Coordinators
This organization promotes the idea of having a mental health coordinator on every set. They also provide some training and certification for mental health coordinators, although it does not appear they have standards that require advanced degrees or traditional mental health qualifications.