More Than a Helpline: Building a Collaborative Mental Health Model for the Arts
As mental health and wellbeing become central to sustainable work in the arts, more organisations are beginning to ask: Are we doing enough to support our people?
In response, many teams are turning to wellbeing resources—like the Support Act Helpline or Arts Wellbeing Collective (AWC) toolkits—to provide that support. These initiatives are incredibly valuable, but they are not designed to replace a dedicated Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or comprehensive wellbeing partner.
Instead, the most effective approach is collaborative—one that weaves together services like Hey Mate, Support Act, and legacy AWC tools into a full-circle strategy that actually meets the needs of today’s creative workforce.
What is Hey Mate?
Hey Mate is Australia’s first creative industries-specific EAP and wellbeing provider. We’re more than just a helpline or one-off training—we’re your embedded care partner, offering trauma-informed, flexible, ongoing support tailored for the arts, music, screen, and creative sectors.
Our Scope of Services Includes:
Confidential counselling and mental health support
Manager coaching, debriefing, and wellbeing strategy consulting
Critical incident response and organisational support during crisis
Flexible access models: full EAP retainer or bank of hours
Creative-specific training and workshops (mental health first aid, burnout, psychosocial safety, peer support)
Digital wellbeing tools and in-house resource development
Event and tour wellbeing planning and psychosocial risk management
Custom workplace culture audits and wellbeing assessments
Community-focused projects and mental health event delivery
Continuity of care: individuals can continue sessions privately with their practitioner beyond the EAP if needed
Whether you're a touring company, production team, festival, or arts organisation, we support your people from every angle.
The Role of Support Act
The Support Act Helpline is a 24/7, free, confidential support line for people in the music and performing arts industries. Their Mentally Healthy Workplaces Program (MHWP) offers important workshops on burnout, psychosocial hazards, inclusion, and respectful work culture.
Support Act’s services are vital for the sector and serve a specific role in individual crisis support and general wellbeing education.
However, it’s important to understand what they don’t provide:
Ongoing care or continuity with a specific practitioner
Tailored workplace wellbeing strategies or reporting
Manager coaching or team-specific support
Critical incident response for organisations
Organisational-level planning or embedded services
Their work is best used in collaboration with dedicated EAPs or wellbeing partners like Hey Mate—not as a stand-alone support system.
What’s Happening with the Arts Wellbeing Collective?
The Arts Wellbeing Collective (AWC), once led by Arts Centre Melbourne, played a critical role in raising awareness about mental health in the arts. Their toolkits and campaigns helped build an industry-wide conversation around wellbeing.
However, as of 2024, the AWC is no longer active. While some legacy resources remain available online, the initiative is not being updated or maintained, and live programming has ceased.
These tools are still useful, but are best viewed as supplementary, not standalone solutions.
The Heavy Lifting: What Only an EAP Can Do
A wellbeing poster in the kitchen or a once-a-year workshop isn’t going to prevent burnout or address trauma in your workplace.
Creative professionals face real pressures—emotional, financial, logistical, and relational. They deserve access to professional, consistent, creative-informed care.
That’s where Hey Mate steps in. We:
Deliver one-on-one counselling with arts-aware therapists
Offer ongoing care pathways, even beyond EAP sessions
Support managers under pressure and guide culture change
Debrief teams post-crisis or conflict
Provide flexible access, ideal for freelance-heavy industries
Monitor wellbeing trends and tailor advice based on real data
We don’t just provide a number to call—we embed care into your organisation’s fabric.
The Best Model: A Collaborative Approach
The healthiest creative workplaces are supported by a combination of services working together:
Hey Mate EAP or Wellbeing Partner
Your foundation: counselling, strategy, crisis response, training, and long-term support
Support Act Helpline
Immediate, free crisis support available 24/7
AWC Legacy Resources
Helpful toolkits and frameworks for education and self-directed learning
Together, this trio provides proactive, reactive, and educational care. And when used intentionally, it builds a resilient, supportive, and psychologically safe creative workplace.
Ready to Build a Safer, Healthier Creative Workplace?
If your team is your greatest asset, your wellbeing strategy should reflect that.
Reach out: hello@theheymateproject.com
Learn more: www.theheymateproject.com
Let’s stop treating mental health support as an afterthought. Let’s work together to build something meaningful, sustainable, and truly supportive—for everyone in the arts.
