Why Artists Need Providers Who Truly Understand Them

Originally published December 1, 2024

When I was in college, I remember one of my dance teachers telling us about an injury he sustained while performing in the European tour of Cats. He was taken to the local hospital where they wanted to perform a surgery that would have ended his dance career. He had them tape his foot up, and then promptly found a surgeon who worked with dancers and operated on his foot in a manner that would allow him to heal and continue dancing.

This story has stuck with me for over 20 years and has served as a continuous reminder that when I’m faced with an ailment, it’s important to seek out a provider that has an understanding of my performing background and preferably shared experience. The same rule applies to our mental health. Guest Terry Hyde talks about how it’s imperative for artists to see a therapist that understands or has previously been an artist, because they will understand your experience in a way that a non-artist will not. I previously had a therapist who was not an artist, and I spent half my sessions explaining “the business” to them. Educating your therapist can take up valuable time and you’ll get to the root of things a lot faster if they already have context.

I recently learned that years of performing have left me with multiple bulging and herniated discs. It was causing numbing and tingling in my hands and my lower back always felt like it was on the verge of spasming. I was treated by multiple physical therapists who only made my pain worse. They only treated one part of me and didn’t take my history and my whole body into account. It wasn’t until I saw a therapist that was a former dancer, who had experienced many of same injuries, that I was able to actually heal. This therapist understood me in a way that others couldn’t.

Our latest guest, Dr. Morgan Martin has more thoughts on this. Morgan was one of my kids when I was an artistic liaison for the National Tour of Billy Elliot. She’s all grown up now and has her doctorate in physical therapy. She brings her background as a dancer to her treatment and has some great insight on how anxiety can physically manifest in the body over time, and ways to combat it.

Check out Morgan's episode here.

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-Allison and the A&A team