Therapist advises on how to deal with entertainment industry crisis

It’s a challenging time in the entertainment industry right now. The current Entertainment Industry Apocalypse (EIA) is upon us, and technological, economic, and social changes continue to hit us in relentless waves. I see it in the professions, read about it in mainstream media, and experience it in my work as a therapist. While confidentiality is a cornerstone of talk therapy, I can share a few questions that continue to arise in my work with entertainment industry clients.

Can I afford to continue on this career path? This question is about the nuts and bolts of our financial lives, a simple income minus expenses accounting of the situation. I hear clients complaining that not only is there less work now, but also less pay. It can be especially difficult when they compare what they make now to what they used to make. The end of syndication, the collapse of the primetime streaming TV boom, production moving out of state, rising living costs, and other factors have many clients longing for the good old days, even if the good old days didn’t seem so good at the time. Some clients fantasize about moving and starting over somewhere else, where jobs are more plentiful and they can buy a 4 bedroom/2 bath condo with a 3 car garage for the price of a condo in West LA. Others who are determined to find that next steady job wonder if, even if they do find it, their careers will be sustainable. They feel like rats constantly searching for the next piece of cheese, and the futility of the search is making them wonder if it’s worth it. Which brings us to the next question…

Do I still like what I do? This is often a secondary consideration, after the more pressing financial one. Even if I get the next job, book the next show, sell the next pilot, will I still enjoy the work? This is a common complaint in many fields, but especially with clients in the creative arts. Often they entered this line of work for their passion, the art, the creative fulfillment, and if financial anxiety, career frustration, and burnout have turned a once enjoyable career into a source of pain, well, what’s the point? Some clients find they still enjoy the work and struggle to find enough and get paid enough to continue supporting themselves and their families. Other clients find it enlightening when they consider this question and realize that, in fact, they no longer love what they are doing. This realization is often a positive experience, a moment of clarity, as a client becomes able to verbalize something they have never said before, namely that they don’t like what they are doing for a living and would like a change. Unfortunately, this is often followed by another verbalization…

What else could I do? This is a question that can hit a client like a bucket of cold water. They’ve spent their entire professional life building equity in their career. How could they give it all up and start over? It’s impossible! This understandable reaction effectively makes the idea of ​​changing careers impossible, just as the idea of ​​waking up tomorrow morning and running a marathon seems impossible. I work with these clients to break down an impossible task into manageable steps. They might consider what lateral moves they could make to leverage their skills in a different position or related field. I encourage these clients to reach out to friends who work in other fields and get a sense of how they got started. They’ll also be encouraged to talk to former colleagues who’ve transitioned from their shared careers to another. Hearing how someone further along on your career path got there and what it was like for them to make the change can be instructive. I encourage these clients to take off their blinders and imagine whatever else they enjoy doing, and more importantly, give themselves the freedom to have a dream-like approach and not limit the possibilities by focusing on the reality of actually making this change. Of course, the very real considerations of how to make this change are right in front of us as we get sent credit card bills and mortgage statements every month, so a final common question is…

How can I deal with all these changes? After considering all the above questions, we often come across this one. How do I stop feeling all this fear and anxiety? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is: you don’t have to. However, I work with clients to reframe this goal, understanding that feelings like fear and anxiety don’t go away on their own, but we can learn to accept them and manage them in ways that mitigate their power over us. Once we’ve considered whether they can afford to continue on this career path, explored whether they still love what they’re doing, and considered what the hell else they’re qualified to do, then at least they’re taking tangible steps to address the problem and find a solution. At this point, we discuss non-work related things that can make us feel better. It can be easy to see every aspect of our lives through the filter of the EIA, but if we can uncheck that filter, we may discover that getting more exercise in the beautiful Southern California sunshine can make us feel better, that changing our diet to include more whole foods rather than processed ones can improve our mood, and that reaching out or reconnecting with friends and family can make us feel cared for and supported.

My clients often feel like it's an impossible task to go from where they are now in their professional lives to a happier one, but I remind them that not only is it possible, but that I've done it too. After a wave of success early in my career, writing for shows like Southern Park AND That show from the 70sMy career hit a plateau and then began to decline after the WGA strike in 2008. It was a difficult time for me and I staggered in the metaphorical dark for years, unhappy enough with my writing career to know I wanted a change, but unable to act because I didn’t know what I wanted that change to be. I asked myself all the questions my clients ask now, and long story short, I ended up going back to school, getting a degree in psychology, and becoming a therapist (“long story short” means doing a lot there). Today, my experience with previous EIAs informs my work with clients going through the current one. I encourage my clients to consider these questions and temper their feelings of stress and anxiety in the present with hope for the future, assuring them that at some point they will tell their life story and say something like “long story short” and realize how far they’ve come.

Phil Stark is a screenwriter (Dude, Where's My Car?), author (Dude, Where's My Car-tharsis?), and therapist in Los Angeles.

Leave a Comment

url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url url