Hot Press is set to play host to a major discussion on mental health at this year's Electric Picnic. The panel discussion, run in association with Minding Creative Minds is titled 'Does Being A Musician Drive You Mad?' and will take place in the Hot Press Chat Room, located in the Mindfield Area of Electric Picnic 2022.

What promises to be a fascinating and much-needed discussion will take place on Sunday, September 4th from 3pm until 4pm. Guests featured include mental health advocate, podcaster and The Blizzards' frontman Niall Breslin (Bressie); music management expert and blankbar founder Siún Moriarity; The Blizzards' bass player Louize Carroll, who is a psychotherapist, and Minding Creative Minds co-founder Dave Reid.

Minding Creative Minds is an organisation established to provide a 24/7 well-being and support programme for everyone in the creative sector – writers, comedians, actors, artists, film-makers, and lots more, as well as musicians.

The panel will bring a vast range of experience and vital insights, as well as wisdom, to the table.

Louize Carroll is a chartered member of the Psychological Society of Ireland, and a member of the British Psychological Society, with over 14 years of training and experience working as a mental health professional in multiple industries – including in the corporate, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Through her work with Jigsaw – The National Centre for Youth Mental Health founded by Dr. Tony Bates – Louize has spent a significant part of her career working as an advocate for change in the mental health systems affecting young people in Ireland. Louize also plays an active part in Bressie's well established and widely praised Where Is My Mind podcast.

The Blizzards.

There's an undeniable significance to holding the discussion during the first post-pandemic Electric Picnic. While Dave Reid commenced working on forming the organisation in 2018, it wasn't fully ready till after the pandemic hit.

To have a fully formed creative sector support organisation has been all the more important over the past two years, given the terrible impact Covid-19 has had on people's mental health and morale in the creative industries. The group are hoping to increase awareness of the existence of Minding Creative Minds' free and confidential services throughout the creative space in Ireland.

Minding Creative Minds services are available to everyone working in the creative industries – whether in front of, behind or on stage. The service is aimed at all of the island of Ireland and is also available to the Irish abroad.

“It’s not just about mental health, it’s about guidance," Louize Carroll says of Minding Creative Minds. "It’s about direction and who can contain you in the chaos you are going through. This can be career-related OR on one’s heart or head. Being able to reach out to Minding Creative Minds makes a difference and can completely change the trajectory the person is on.”

It is important to note that Minding Creative Minds is not just a mental health support organisation. Rather, the services are focused, in a holistic way, on the entire person.

Minding Creative Minds' Mentorship programme was born out of the career advice enquires, in which Siún Moriarity was directly involved.

"Over the course of the pandemic," Siún explains. "I began the process of developing a business idea named blankbar, which is an app that facilitates the discovery of independent artists by creating a space where music discovery is fun and accessible for listeners.

"As a long time music fan and first time founder," she adds, "the process of making this a reality was equal parts exciting, exhausting and overwhelming. When I came across the MCM programme, I was going through a period of burn-out and realised that having a mentor with experience in the creative sector would give me grounding, and help me do the blankbar concept justice."

Minding Creative Minds will soon issue its fourth 'call-out'. In its three programmes to date, a wide range of creative sector streams have been represented in one-to-one sessions, including television, film, stage, song writing, publishing, the art of digital promotion and retail, event management, theatre, visual art, playwriting and more.

Don't miss 'Does Being A Musician Drive You Mad?' in the Hot Press Chat Room at Electric Picnic, on Sunday, where the panel discussion will surely offer fresh insights to everyone involved in the creative industries. It kicks off at 3pm.

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