Dr Jill Williams. Chartered Psychologist. Coach. Therapist. North Wales based, working UK wide.
Providing bespoke therapeutic and consultancy services to media productions. Why it matters?
I can play a pivotal role in ensuring you comply to the Ofcom regulations in employing a suitably qualified, regulated psychologist to oversee your duty of care, making better mental health a reality amongst crew, talent and contributors. And, of course, a happy supported crew is more likely to reach its potential in creativity, and facilitates a smoother-running production.
Support is especially important in reality TV, where psychological risks can be significant and where OFCOM, and viewers, now expect a greater duty of care.
I’m happy to be a flexible resource to everyone involved and to be available for conversations on set.
Here's how I could help as a media production psychologist on your production: �
Support for Crew Members- Pre-production training on stress management, resilience, and mental health awareness.
- On-set psychological support, offering access to mental health counselling.
- Workload and burnout monitoring, especially during long or intense filming periods.
- Debriefing and support after difficult shoots, especially with distressing content (e.g., crime, trauma).
- Conflict mediation to reduce toxic workplace dynamics.
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Support for the Watching Public- Risk assessment for potentially triggering content, ensuring proper warnings are in place.
- Consultation on narrative framing for pitches, avoiding misrepresentation or glamorisation of mental illness or trauma.
- Input on ethical storytelling and script review, ensuring portrayals of mental health issues and interventions are accurate and sensitive.
- Trigger warnings and support information (e.g., helplines) aired alongside difficult scenes.
- Post-broadcast viewer guidance, such as online resources or companion content offering context or support.
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Support for Reality TV Participants- Psychological screening and suitability assessments before selection.
- Informed consent support, ensuring participants fully understand the psychological risks.
- Pre-filming preparation, supporting coping with media exposure, social media including trolling, and life in the spotlight.
- On-show monitoring, with support present or on-call during filming.
- Aftercare programs, including therapy and on-call support and continued social media resilience training.
Why use a BPS Media Production Chartered Psychologist? ‘Psychologist’ is not a protected term - anyone can call themselves a ‘psychologist’! So, when looking for a media production welfare professional, look for the protected terms, such as the Chartered Psychologist title I hold. This is a guarantee of a high level of qualification and expertise. As a Chartered Psychologist (and also an Associate Fellow) of the British Psychological Society, I’m bound by a professional code of ethics and I have access to the BPS Media Ethics Advisory Group for additional support and second opinions.
As well as specialising in work stress and burnout, I’ve also completed additional media production training and I’m conversant in Ofcom guidance. The decisions are always yours, but I can advise you with a wealth of knowledge and experience and a flexible, empathic approach. You can find my entry on the British Psychological Society Directory of Media Production Psychologists
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