Audition Anxiety Treatment
If anxiety keeps getting between you and the work you've trained for, the missing piece may not be more coaching. Audition anxiety is a form of social anxiety. It responds to the same evidence-based therapies used for other anxiety problems: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Dr. Michael Jacobs is a licensed clinical psychologist at the Performance Institute for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. Before becoming a psychologist, he spent a decade as a professional musical theater performer and worked as a voice teacher and vocal coach. He knows the audition room firsthand.
His doctoral research at Hofstra University focused on this problem. He developed ACT for Actors, an eight-week program that adapts acceptance and commitment therapy to the realities of auditioning, and studied it with professional musical theater performers. Participants found the skills helpful for managing their anxiety at auditions.
The goal of therapy isn't to get rid of nerves. It's to change how you respond to them, so you stop avoiding auditions, prepare the way you intend to, and do your best work even when anxiety shows up.
Therapy is available via telehealth in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, and many other states. ACT for Actors is offered as individual therapy and, periodically, as a group.
To ask about working together, contact the Performance Institute for CBT at performancecbt.com, [email protected]
Dr. Michael Jacobs is a licensed clinical psychologist at the Performance Institute for Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies. Before becoming a psychologist, he spent a decade as a professional musical theater performer and worked as a voice teacher and vocal coach. He knows the audition room firsthand.
His doctoral research at Hofstra University focused on this problem. He developed ACT for Actors, an eight-week program that adapts acceptance and commitment therapy to the realities of auditioning, and studied it with professional musical theater performers. Participants found the skills helpful for managing their anxiety at auditions.
The goal of therapy isn't to get rid of nerves. It's to change how you respond to them, so you stop avoiding auditions, prepare the way you intend to, and do your best work even when anxiety shows up.
Therapy is available via telehealth in New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, and many other states. ACT for Actors is offered as individual therapy and, periodically, as a group.
To ask about working together, contact the Performance Institute for CBT at performancecbt.com, [email protected]