Mental Health in the Entertainment Industry: Dr. Alexis on Mental Space with Sean Garvey
Discover how Dr. Alexis Moreno, the pioneering force behind Wit & Reason, is revolutionizing mental health support in the realm of film and television production. In an engaging conversation with Sean Garvey, host of The Mental Space, Dr. Moreno unveils her innovative services designed to assist individuals grappling with mental health crises on production sets.
At Wit & Reason, Dr. Moreno and her team are trailblazing the provision of specialized mental health solutions tailored specifically to the dynamic needs of the entertainment industry. From on-set Mental Health Coordination to Performance Coaching, their comprehensive array of support addresses prevalent issues such as harassment, toxicity, and operational inefficiencies endemic to the field.
Don't miss this enlightening discussion as Dr. Moreno underscores the paramount importance of mental well-being in fostering a safe and flourishing work environment for all stakeholders in the creative process. Tune in to gain invaluable insights into how Wit & Reason is spearheading the charge toward a healthier and more empathetic entertainment landscape.
Interview Transcription
Sean Garvey: Welcome back to the mental space with Sean Garvey right here on News and Talk 1380, WAOK, and make sure you download the Odyssey app to your mobile device so you can take us with you everywhere on the go. Go to Odyssey and search for News and Talk 1380. W. A. O. K. Sean Garvey. This is the show in which we talk about all things considered mental health in our community as we get ready to go into the new year 2024.
It was just only right for me to bring on my special guest this evening. We have Dr Alexis Moreno. She is a media [psychologist] and performance coach, and she's here to talk about Wit And Reason dot com and how it coincides with your everyday mental health. Good evening Dr. Alexis, how are you doing?
Dr. Alexis: Hi, good evening.
Doing well. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me.
Sean Garvey: Thank you for taking the time to come on the mental space. For the first time ever, we had a chance to talk offline about some of the amazing work that you have done over the years from radio to producing to, of course, helping people in the field that you are in as it pertains to mental health.
And we're about to go into 2024 a new year. Of course, 2024 is definitely going to be A very big game changer, just like it was in 2023. And so from your profession before we get going to. Some stuff about your company. We're going to get into that in just a few moments, but what are you hoping for in 2024 as we continue to have the ongoing conversation surrounding mental health?
Oh
Dr. Alexis: Man, pop quiz, 2024. I appreciate your optimism that it's going to be bigger and better than 2023. What I'm hoping for is that all of the change making that's been happening over these past decades continue to push forward and actually come to fruition in 2024. Myself and a lot of other mental health advocates have been pushing to get mental health professionals, psychologists, social worker service outside of the office and into our everyday lives.
Including our workplaces that we'll be talking about today. So I'm just looking forward to, people understanding there's an awareness that mental health is needed. There's an appreciation for it now, and I'm just hoping to see mental health and mental health professionals just out there doing what they do best, helping humans at every capacity in 2024.
Sean Garvey: Yeah, 2023. A lot of advocacy in 2023 on a media level. As I say all the time, you see so many big name people of influence and people in the entertainment industry coming out more and more each day, every week and talking about their own mental health journey and just keeping the conversation going.
If you had to describe in one word what 2023 look like when it Comes to mental health. What comes to your mind?
Dr. Alexis: Influential, especially as you bring up the fact that people who are in the spotlight, more celebrities and even like executives, people with more influence and impact are actually being more open and authentic and sincere in their journey.
And I think that influence plays such a huge role in modeling for other people that, Hey, this is just part of being human. Just like we need to go to a medical professional for our regular physical checkups. Same, we have a brain too. We have a mind that functions.
We all need to do the same. So I think for 2023, it was we had some really strong positive influences.
Sean Garvey: I love it. I love it. Let's switch gears, Dr. Alexis, and let's talk about media psychiatrists. I never heard that before.
Dr. Alexis: Psychologists. Yeah.
Sean Garvey: Yeah. So I never heard that before. What does that framework look like for our viewers and for our listeners that are not aware about this part of your service or your profession?
Dr. Alexis: Yeah. So media psychology is a specialty within psychology. So When you think of a psychologist, you might associate that with the study of the mind, or working with people and treating mental health disorders or illnesses. When we look at how psychologists play a role in media, it could be anything from researching how media impacts us or learning about, What can we/what can media do or even technology do to help benefit us as humans? What's it like for us as humans to engage with AI or or technology or media? And then what we focus on at wit and reason is how can we ensure that our media workplaces are functioning as safely and as effectively as possible.
So we work behind the scenes with with cast and crew. And we also work in front of the scenes as well. So as a media psychologist, we are trained to be able to break down mental health, psychological, human concepts to explain it in a really relatable and ideally entertaining way. So that way we can help with mental health outreach and advocacy through various media platforms.
So there's a lot that we get to do as psychologists. A lot of it is about sharing our information, sharing our evidence-based practices and really helping it become applied both for behind the scenes and media work and in front as we continue our education advocacy.
Sean Garvey: Millions and millions of Americans watch television us as media consumers because we're not just only media broadcasters, but we also are media consumers, right?
And we consume a lot of what we see on TV. And how common is it especially with you working in the field, how common is it for people to have these type of behavioral patterns by what they see and what they hear on television? How impactful, how common is it?
Dr. Alexis: Yeah, and it's going to depend on the person, but I have some just really remarkable memories of even working as a therapist in the community, working with a child or a teen and trying to get a point across.
To help my client work through something like trauma. And one of the most powerful moments I had with the teen was, they were like, oh yeah, like I saw on, this was back in the day, I saw on the Tyra Banks show. Or yeah Oprah said something about that. Or I saw this play out on a reality show or something.
So it gives people some insight, both to themselves and the human condition. It could also help normalize some of the struggles that a whole lot of us are facing. It helps people feel less alone, and it helps validate their experiences in a way that, that they otherwise would have just felt completely isolated.
So it's very powerful in increasing awareness. And then we get to have our therapists in the communities actually help solidify that with our clients, so yes, exactly. Just as you saw, those people working through trauma or through abuse that's something that you could work through as well.
And as you saw you're not alone. And so that in and of itself can be incredibly powerful.
Sean Garvey: We're going to take it to 2020 when we come back from the break. I have Dr. Alexis Moreno. She is talking about her company, Wit Reason. We're going to talk a little bit about that. We're going to also just revisit 2020 because that was the year where we sheltered.
Stayed in our houses. We stayed in our spots. We stayed in shelter. And that's when more and more people started watching more television than ever before. If they were not doing work remote or remote. Work. They were watching television, consuming a lot of information and entertainment through the media and just how it affected their own mental health.
So let's talk about that. When we come back from the break, four zero four seven, two, six, 1380 is the telephone number. We have more of the mental space with Sean Garvey right here on news and talk. 1380 W a okay. And we also are streaming live on the flow television network. So go there and check it out.
I check us out right now. The flow television network, as well as on reach one network TV. We will be right back.
Welcome back to The Mental Space with Sean Garvey right here on News and Talk 1380, WAOK. We are also streaming live on the Flow Television Network and on Reach One Network TV. Sean Garvey, thank you so much for hanging out with us. I have Dr. Alexis Moreno on the live line with us this evening on the mental space.
And she is here to talk about her company wit and reason a great platform to help those that are dealing with a form of mental health and what they are doing behind the scenes with mental health, but from a media aspect. And I want to. Just go back to 2020 for a moment, Dr. Alexis, and that was a very pivotal year for people dealing with different forms of mental health and mental illness, shelter in place, having to stay home and figure things out during the pandemic, but at the same time watching so much television and consuming a lot of the Things that we have seen during those 12 months the pandemic, including the riots that happened and so in your profession and with the impact of television with it, just taking it to the next level.
Even after the pandemic, how much I would say, how much of the pandemic did it impact media in 2020 and just even post pandemic, how much of an impact did that make?
Dr. Alexis: Yeah. The shutdowns were really tough for the industry, a lot of projects got shelved. A lot of people were out of work.
And Honestly, our media and our entertainment industry is still recovering. And it's taken a lot for people within the industry to, to reestablish themselves and their work and their projects and pitching and trying to get trying to get their productions out there. And you say 2020, it just feels Like a blink of an eye ago, like it was just, it still feels so recent because a lot of us are still recovering.
So when you bring up 2024, I'm just, I'm hopeful that all of the work we've been doing to climb back out of those shutdowns finally come to fruition because there's a lot of really amazing work and projects out there that, that got shelved and need to keep on trying to push through and get their stories told.
Sean Garvey: Yeah, and not just even that. Of course, this year we've seen something that was also unprecedented and that was the writer strike with the sag and the actors and the people that were affected by it. And what did that look like for you as a media [psychologist]? What did that look like for you? When actors and writers went on strike and not knowing if this strike was going to bleed into.
Another six months or into another year. What did that look like to you?
Dr. Alexis: Yeah, I think everyone can empathize with how challenging and intimidating a strike can be, especially in an industry that is already unstable, unreliable with work. That's a big thing. A huge risk to put yourself out there and say you're going on strike when it's hard enough just to find work on the regular. But to actually stand up for yourself and for your community and say No, we have to get together and we have to stand by each other and make sure that our rights and our needs are met.
So during that period we did everything that we can at Wit and Reason to try to offer as much support to to actors and writers and help them work through the overwhelming distress and anxiety that comes up just naturally with any kind of strike or work instability, or even just facing the unknown.
And even during that time, we utilized it as an opportunity to partner with another organization called Cintima. They train Intimacy Coordinators on set. And we partnered up with them to bring in more mental health and more safety trainings. During the strike, we were working on building up trainings so we can help prepare actors and cast and crew for when they are going to get back in there. That they have some kind of training to make sure that their mental health is is talked about in a really positive way and that they're being taken care of. We are addressing anti-sexual harassment anti-bias talking about bystanding and upstanding in the industry. So we utilize that time to help to help nurture. And uplift the industry. So when they come back, when the strikes were over (cause we knew eventually it was going to have to be over) when everyone does come back, we could come back still pushing and still advocating for healthy workplace standards.
Sean Garvey: Yeah, I definitely agree with that. If you just tuning into the mental space with Sean Garvey, we are talking to media psychiatrist and performance coach Dr Alexis Moreno With and reason you see it at the bottom of the screen there.
If you are watching us on the flow television network and on reach one network TV, we have the information at the bottom of the screen there with and reason. com is the website. Let's talk, let's go back and talk about wit and reason. And this has been around for how long?
Dr. Alexis: Dude got the name wit and reason about seven years ago.
And I've been, yeah, but I've been consulting for about 14 years. And. I, I double majored in undergrad in both television broadcasting and psychology. And even way back in my early twenties, I knew that I wanted to pursue both. I grew up in LA as a child actor, I've seen the industry from a very young age.
I'm really familiar with both it's pros and cons. And I knew that we could actually do better. We could do right by by the, our POCs in the community, we could do right by, better by, by the women who are working in the industry. There's a lot more that needs to be done to ensure the safety and well being of cast and crew.
And so I, I've been pushing this, I've been pushing this along for, this agenda and mission along for quite some time now.
Sean Garvey: Fun fact, because you just mentioned that you was a child star. What have we seen you in? A child actor? You know what they say, when you become an actor, you become a star.
Dr. Alexis: Always a star in my parents eyes. Okay. So our, so for those of you in California There's an awesome science center called the California Science Center. This was my first speaking role. I was the lead in their the orientation videos that they sent out to all the schools that are going to the California Science Center on a field trip.
And that was my first speaking and lead role was for the California Science Center. And I have no idea how many schools it went out to and how many kids got to learn. Don't touch the dinosaur or whatever going on, but that was a really fun shoot because we were just taking over the California Science Center.
It was like a big playground for, gosh, for months. But other than that, I, I've done a lot of extra work. I was once a victim of a school bus accident for, do you remember that show ER?
Sean Garvey: Yeah, I do.
Dr. Alexis: So there's a, I have pictures of me with just it's fun about it. It's like you get all the makeup, they did all the, like the blood and everything and all the torn up and stuff to make it look authentic.
Sean Garvey: Yeah but let me ask you real quick before we go to break. So that's a great question right there. What made you pivot from being a child actor to getting into the field that you are in as a media [psychologist]? That's a very, I guess to look at it from my lens, that's a complete 360 to go from one particular profession to a different one. What made you pivot into that field coming from acting?
Dr. Alexis: I'm going to share, I haven't shared this with anyone actually. And I'll go ahead and share this with you and with all of your listeners. What actually made me pivot from acting to psychology? Did you want to take a break?
Sean Garvey: Let's take a break. You're giving us the suspense. This is yeah, this is a cliffhanger here.
All right she's gonna give us the scoop on how she made that transition from acting to psychology. And so we're gonna get into that in just a few moments. Joining with us here on the mental space with Sean Garvey, we have Dr Alexis Moreno, media [psychologist] and performance coach. With Wit and Reason, I'm sorry.
wit and reason. com is the website. Look below and you will see the information right there on your tv screen. We will be right back with more of the mental space with Sean Garvey right here on News and Talk 1380 WAOK.
It's News and Talk 1380 WAOK. And you can check us out on the website, w a o k. com. That is w a o k. com. And tell Alexa play news and talk 1380 w a okay. We talking to Dr. Alexis Moreno of wit and reason. com. She's joining with us before the break. Dr. Alexis, we've been talking about.
Switching over from acting to the profession that you in right now. Talk to us about that. You left us with a very huge cliffhanger.
Sean Garvey: Yeah. How you made that pivot. Why would someone pivot from acting to, to psychology?
Dr. Alexis: I was in acting from gosh, from middle school through undergrad, actually.
So up until my early twenties. And as I was assessing what I wanted to do with my life and my career, one of the things that was the most important to me was both my, predicted success in the career and my safety and wellbeing. And growing up in the industry, I was able to hear and experience some really horrific, toxic behaviors against both me and other fellow women in the industry.
And I recognized even at a young age and in undergrad in my early 20s was like, man, if I really want to pursue acting or even directing, which you know, what's like unheard of for women back then still underrepresented to this day, I was like, if I'm actually going to pursue this, I'm going to have to either grow thicker skin and put up with a bunch of harassing behaviors and be underpaid and be dismissed a lot of the times.
Or I could try to look at other career options, and the great thing about going to college is that you're encouraged to, to check out different different fields of study. And I happened to cross psychology from a sociology requirement to, to volunteer at a domestic violence shelter.
And, I got to learn more about what the needs are in the community and for women. And that's when I realized that I, number one: honestly, I didn't want to put myself in those situations like, and it's a horrific reality to have to face. Okay, do I want career success or do I want safety and not to be harassed?
It sucks that's the decision that I felt I had to make at the time. And with that said, I figured if I could, study psychology and understand this type of perpetrator behavior, this type of abuser behavior understand even forensic psychology or, what is it about sociopaths and people with antisocial or narcissistic personalities and the industry that allows them to thrive.
At the expense of other women trying to just simply work in the industry. At the expense of other people of color in the industry. At the expense of all of the different communities that are underrepresented. And so I figured if I could study psychology and then still work within the industry, I could try to make a difference.
So that way future girls, future, Latinas don't have to choose between a successful career and safety. And that's, what's really got me to this place where I'm at now.
Sean Garvey: Did you know what mental health looked like, or did you realize that? You was traumatized or you experienced a form of anxiety when you went through that as you was pivoting from acting to psychology.
Dr. Alexis: Yeah. When I was pivoting from, and I didn't even see it as a pivot because I double majored. So I saw it as, We're expanding here. I could still do work in front of the camera or on the microphone. Like I do as a subject matter expert. And like I do on my mental health talk show.
So I could still do that form of performance that I love and I can expand my role and my mission to be able to have the right competency to go in to an industry or a corporation or a production studio and make really impactful change. And it wasn't so much of an anxious motivator.
It was more of a feeling of empowerment to be able to pursue both with media psychology.
Sean Garvey: It just works hand in hand with each other. All right. So let's before we get up out of here before we let you go. So let's pivot. That's the key word pivot to back over to wit and reason. com.
So as a mental health advocate and for all of my mental health advocates out there when they go to the site, what Is it that they are going to see or what is going to be offered to them if they want to do something with wit and reason?
Dr. Alexis: Yeah. So you go to wit and reason. com and on your homepage, you get to see our various offerings, starting off with all of the services we provide for film and television safety.
From that, we one thing that we're really excited about is. I am a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, which means that I could lead people within the industry or just adults in general workplaces as well, too. I could lead them through Mental Health First Aid training.
Think about like your CPR training. But this is to help adults number one, assess whether or not there's a concern and then number two, how to actually address when there's a concern that there's some kind of mental health concern. Whether you're concerned about someone having like suicidal ideation or someone having a panic attack or someone might be might be using drugs, like how do you navigate that?
And these are all things that are. Very common within the industry, which is why we specialize with cast and crew. So if we can get everyone trained, imagine like how powerful that could be. If everyone knows how to effectively support one another. So we have that, we got we got all of our other safety trainings in there.
And then we also have consulting. So we offer a complimentary consultation call. So you could get ahold of me right away and we could sit down and chat about what your production needs are. We also do the same for workplaces and we also offer private services as well, telehealth services for anyone who needs either therapy or some specialized form of coaching, like performance coaching.
Sean Garvey: Now they didn't have this 40 years ago, but I'm glad. Yeah. But I'm glad that this is implemented. And any type of production, whether it's film, TV, commercial, or anything like that. So I'm glad that there's a service in a community that is out there for that. Because I can think of a few television and film projects that should have had people like yourself on the set.
Whenever those circumstances and those instances arise. I can think of several films including one by an actor. I ain't going to say his last name, but his first name was, yeah, his first name is Alec. I ain't going to say his last name. Not Alexis, but Alec. Absolutely. Yeah.
Dr. Alexis: I bet you have, I bet you have some stories to tell if you were able to. This isn't anything unusual or rare.
Sean Garvey: That's right. And I think that needs to be people. I think there needs to be a team like you even at radio stations, of course, because what people don't know is that is theater of the mind and in radio personalities.
They. You may not see them, but you could either hear it in their voice or just get that energy from them over the airwaves. Like they're not doing their best today. And it would be great to have a method of advocacy or a service like wit and reason to be there or to have his own office inside of a radio station, in case a DJ or a personality or someone on staff.
Is in need of your service,
Dr. Alexis: Right? Exactly. And that's what we're here for. We're down for radio too.
So working as a Mental Health Coordinator on set or in the studios that's where we can just come around and just be present, just so we can make sure everyone's treating each other with respect and dignity and and working as effectively as possible.
And then the performance coaching aspect of it is, we don't wanna stigmatize us talking to somebody, but we can even just help with Hey, you having a rough day, you feeling low energy? Or you're not sure how to, really communicate or perform in the way that you want to.
We could help you navigate that too, so that's what we're working toward. And we're really excited for 2024 for All of the awareness from Me Too, from from Black Lives Matter. All of the efforts we put in all of these years to get the awareness up that this is something that's drastically needed.
To finally say, okay, we know it's needed. We have resources, Wit and Reason, mental health professionals, who are properly trained to carry this out. Now let's just get them there. Let's have them be in these places to make sure that, we have this type of support that we need in these really intense high functioning type of workplaces.
Sean Garvey: Yeah. Yeah. Couldn't agree anymore. Dr. Alexis, we really appreciate you for coming on the mental space this evening and even giving us some insight. I've definitely learned a lot this evening about what you do and hopefully our listeners as well. For more information, the website is witandreason.com, @witandreason And any last remarks for our listening audience?
Dr. Alexis: I just appreciate you so much and everything that you're doing. Let's just keep on talking up mental health everywhere. And I'm so grateful for your show to focus on mental wellness.
Sean Garvey: Absolutely. That's what we're here for. And thank you so much.
And I'll make sure to Let people know about wit and reason. com. You can follow wit and reason on social media as well. We have it at the bottom there at wit and reason for more information. Thank you so much, Dr. Alexis Moreno continue to keep doing what you're doing for all of us as mental health advocates.
We really appreciate it.
Dr. Alexis: Thank you so much.
Sean Garvey: Thank you. It is the mental space with Sean Garvey right here on news and talk 1380 W a okay. We will be right back with more of the mental space.