What Artists and Writers of Color Need Now
Our anxiety is only getting worse.
I sat down to speak with therapist and long-time musician Bill Harrison about the challenges his clients face during this time of police brutality, protests, and reckoning with America’s long history of racism. Bill joined me over Zoom from his home in Chicago, IL.
Sarah Valentine: What motivated you to become a therapist for artists and writers?
Bill Harrison: Having lived and worked among musicians, actors, dancers, and writers for the last few decades — I played upright bass for over forty years — these are the people I know best. I have direct experience of both the benefits and the pitfalls of a life in the arts.
In graduate school, I realized that artists as a population are underserved by our healthcare system — marginalized by below-average incomes and inadequate or nonexistent health insurance.
When I combined those bits of knowledge with my training as a mental health counselor, focusing my attention on helping artists seemed like the most natural fit. There’s an added bonus for me: I get to hang out with interesting, creative people.
SV: What special psychological and emotional challenges do artists and writers face?
