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Reality TV takes a toll on the mental health of cast members. 'Love is Blind' alum steps up.

The reality of reality television isn't pretty.

More Perfect Union screenshot

'Love is Blind' alum tackles mental health of reality tv stars

Since MTV first aired "The Real World" in 1992, people have been obsessed with watching people's real life interactions from the comfort of their home. It started off sort of like people-watching, but subsequent shows like "Big Brother" and "Survivor" kicked it up a notch. Instead of just watching a bunch of young roommates figuring out how to live with people from different backgrounds in a new city, it became high intensity, curated living situations.

Basically, 1999 was the last year that reality television resembled a form reality. By the year 2000, unscripted TV became people-watching on steroids. By putting people on an island they can't escape while having to complete challenging tasks with strangers or in a house filled with cameras that they're not allowed to leave cranked up the drama.

Audiences lived for the alliances formed, the enemies made, the arguments, and in more recent years, the love triangles. It all makes for excellent television, but there's a pretty large caveat that seems to be overlooked—these are real people. There's a misconception that because someone is on television that they're overpaid, but the reality is, people that star on unscripted television shows aren't paid very well.

File:Real world go big or go home.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

In fact, most cast members have regular jobs or no job to return to. Many are lacking adequate insurance, if they have insurance at all. A lot of them go onto these shows in good faith, hoping to find love, win life-changing money or hoping to land a scripted gig to further their career aspirations. But there are things that go on behind the scenes of reality television that cast members aren't privy to until the contract is signed and cameras are rolling.

While audience members speculate if producers are creating scenarios to increase the drama, it's something that is very rarely confirmed. But even if you're a huge fan of that kind of TV, you're not typically hoping for some sort of mental harm to come to the cast members whether you like them or not. Yet, more than 20 reality TV stars have died by suicide since 2004 and it seems no one was really addressing the issue in an impactful way until UCAN Foundation came into existence.

Bb22 GIF by Big BrotherGiphy

UCAN stands for Unscripted Cast Advocacy Network and was founded by former "Love is Blind" cast member, Jeremy Hart. who has since been joined by fellow alum, Nick Thompson. The two work with Licensed Clinical Psychologist Dr. Isabelle Morley to create a directory of qualified mental health therapists that have experience working with people in the entertainment industry.

"As a cast member of season 2 of Netflix’s 'Love is Blind,' I've experienced firsthand the abusive and exploitative environment perpetuated within unscripted production environments," Hart's UCAN bio reads. "I decided to start the UCAN Foundation to create a catalyst for change in an industry that historically has been immune to transparency and accountability in its practices."

Challenge Digging GIF by Survivor CBSGiphy

The goal is to connect reality television cast members with therapists that either accept the cast member's insurance or can provide services at a reduced rate. This isn't something just for cast members that are no longer on the show; they provide assistance before, during and after production. UCAN isn't just a mental health matching service, either; the nonprofit assists with contract review, helping cast members understand their rights and legal support if a dispute arises. The board of directors is also made up of former reality television cast members, so there's an empathetic ear at every turn.

Hart and Thompson teamed up with More Perfect Union for a short documentary about the realities unscripted TV cast members face. In a shocking revelation, the alleged mistreatment starts immediately.

Love Is Blind Television GIF by NETFLIXGiphy

"They are in control of every element of your life. You're put into a hotel room and you don't have a key. You don't have access to water unless you want to drink it out of the faucet or the shower. We're all just sitting there not being fed on a regular cadence but definitely being fed a lot of alcohol," Thompson shares with More Perfect Union.

Hart discloses an initial experience equally as concerning. "Not only did they take our phones, they took our wallets, they took our IDs, they took our passports, all in the same instance, without telling us ahead of time this was going to happen," he says. "You never see daylight unless you're allowed to use the bathroom, which is a trailer outside."

UCAN's website asserts, "While the content is enjoyable, you may not realize how much exploitation goes on behind the scenes. Many cast members are treated poorly, subject to inhumane working conditions, sophisticated psychological manipulation tactics and a threatening atmosphere—all for little to no pay. Cast members often leave shows mentally distraught with nowhere to turn."

Additional cast members have come out to talk about their time on different reality shows, which seems to be similar to the experiences of Hart and Thompson. With reality TV becoming a large part of Western culture, it's not likely to end anytime soon. But thanks to UCAN and their team of dedicated former cast members and therapists, no reality television star has to go through the process alone while the agency fights for conditions to improve.

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Teen girls have increased mental health concerns due to violence and sadness, CDC says

"Our teenage girls are suffering through an overwhelming wave of violence and trauma, and it’s affecting their mental health."

Photo by Dev Asangbam on Unsplash

Teen girls have increased mental health concerns, CDC says.

Editor's Note: If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.


The mental health of teens has been widely discussed over the past few years. Lockdowns early in the pandemic put a much greater emphasis on teens and their social-emotional development and highlighted how isolation contributes to mental health concerns. But as things returned to normal, or as normal as they can be, the teen mental health crisis didn't seem to let up.

Now, the CDC is saying the crisis is actually getting worse, specifically for teen girls. In the fall of 2021, the CDC conducted its Youth Risk Behavior Survey and the results are in: A startling 57% of teen girls—nearly 3 in 5—reported feeling "persistently sad or hopeless," while 30% said they had seriously considered dying by suicide, an increase of 60% since 2011. These numbers are the highest they've been in the last decade, according to the CDC.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey has been conducted every other year for the past 30 years and includes the responses of 17,232 high school students living in the United States, so the new data is concerning.

Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, told NBC News, "Our teenage girls are suffering through an overwhelming wave of violence and trauma, and it’s affecting their mental health." According to the CDC data, there has been a dramatic increase in violence against teen girls reported, with 1 in 5 saying they experienced sexual violence within the past year. And 14% of teen girls reported being forced into having sex, which is an increase from 2019.


This survey doesn't discount the mental health struggles of teen boys. It simply shows that teenaged girls are showing an elevated response. In fact, overall more than 40% of boys and girls reported feeling so sad and hopeless that it interfered with their schoolwork or extracurricular activities.

And teenagers that identified as part of the LGBTQ community were even more likely to report mental health struggles. Rates of suicidal thoughts among LGBTQ youth continue to be staggering with 45% seriously considering suicide in the past year. They are also more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers. According to the CDC, 22% of LGBTQ youth attempted suicide in the past year.

Open and honest communication with teens about mental health and mental health resources can be helpful. As a therapist, I encourage parents to make sure their kids have crisis hotlines stored in their phone, like 988 and the Trevor Project numbers, 1-866-488-7386 for calls and 678-678 for text.

Because here's the thing, teens are notoriously private and are likely to tell their friends they're struggling before they inform their parents. It's important for them to have the tools to make those connections when they need it most. In fact, the CDC numbers do not show an actual increase in acts of violence or harassment against teens. Rather, they show teens are reporting incidents at a greater frequency. But there is still likely a significant gap between incidents that occur and those that are reported.

The teen years are hard for a lot of reasons, but with the increase of violence against girls, it's hitting them a little harder. Being there to support them through this time without judgment, even when you don't understand, can be a big help.

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Oregon utilizes teen volunteers to run their YouthLine teen crisis hotline

“Each volunteer gets more than 60 hours of training, and master’s level supervisors are constantly on standby in the room.”

PBS YouTube Screenshot

Oregon utilizes teen volunteers to man YouthLine teen crisis hotline

Editor's Note: If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

Mental health is a top-of-mind issue for a lot of people. Thanks to social media and people being more open about their struggles, the stigma surrounding seeking mental health treatment appears to be diminishing. But after the social and emotional interruption of teens due the pandemic, the mental health crises among adolescents seem to have jumped to record numbers.

PBS reports that Oregon is "ranked as the worst state for youth mental illness and access to care." But they're attempting to do something about it with a program that trains teenagers to answer crisis calls from other teens. They aren't alone though, as there's a master's level supervisor at the ready to jump in if the call requires a mental health professional.

The calls coming into the Oregon YouthLine can vary drastically, anywhere from relationship problems to family struggles, all the way to thoughts of self-harm and suicide. Teens manning the phones are provided with 60 hours of training and are taught to recognize when the call needs to be taken over by the adult supervisor.

"We’re not medical professionals. We’re like a sidekick, really. The person has the option to choose what they want to do," Mia, a YouthLine volunteer, told PBS NewsHour. "They’re like the hero of the story. We’re just there to assist them to make that choice."

The uniqueness of this program is the fact that teens are helping teens, and while that may seem strange to some, William Brangham revealed to PBS NewsHour that research shows teens actually cope better with stress when interacting with peers. A study from 2017 shows that interacting with peers after a particularly stressful event helps calm emotional upset.

Surprisingly, the program isn't new. It's been around for 20 years and has mostly received calls from Oregon, but since 2021, calls have been coming from all over the country. Since fielding crisis calls can take a toll on anyone who does it, YouthLine has worked to combat the impacts on the volunteers.

"Woven into all of the mentoring, all of the training are these—these safeguards for these young people, that we have contact information for their parents. We can reach out to them if they need to. They do check-ins every day after every shift. We underestimate the capacity of what young people can do to help other young people. As adults, it’s easy for us to say they can’t do that. But they can," Emily Moser, YouthLine’s director told PBS.

The program won't solve the mental health crisis amongst teens, but it can certainly help fill in the gaps.

Watch the full segment below:

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Burnout has therapists seeking other careers when mental health care is needed more than ever

For a therapist, the decision to leave the field doesn’t come easily.

Photo by Alexander Pemberton on Unsplash

Therapists are leaving the profession, creating a shortage just when their services are most needed.

Most of us know that the pandemic has taken a significant toll on people's mental health. Everyone from young kids who missed out on important socialization and learning during the lockdowns to older adults who experienced isolation, to teens, college students, young people just starting out in the world of work and parents … every slice of the population had legitimate struggles. Those seeking therapy were often left stranded due to long waitlists or difficulty finding a therapist that accepts their insurance. That's if they were lucky enough to get a callback.

Therapists themselves have become so overwhelmed and badly burned out that many have just thrown in the towel, and the situation continues to get worse. I was one of those therapists! Walking away was the hardest thing I’ve done because of how much I care about the people I help.

For a therapist, the decision to leave the field doesn’t come easily. By nature, many therapists are compassionate and empathetic people who truly care about their clients and the practice of mental health. For some therapists, walking away can be a choice between life and death. Therapists being pushed to the brink of suicide is not unheard of. Some even succeed in taking their own lives. I knew several therapists who ended their lives, and I was forced to push through the grief until finally the overwhelm became unmanageable. I felt guilty adding to the shortage of therapists, but something had to give.

Like everyone else, therapists have been hit by the pandemic and other tragic events such as mass shootings, but unlike everyone else they are expected to hold the fear and pain of every client they see on top of their own. Many therapists have their own therapists to help them carry the load. The number of therapists to go around just isn’t enough.

Currently there are approximately 530,000 therapists in the United States to serve a population of 330 million people. This number includes clinical social workers, clinical psychologists, licensed counselors and marriage and family therapists, and it also includes those who have left the profession but maintained their license. Obviously every person in America isn’t seeking therapy but it’s clear that there’s a disparity in numbers.

therapist, therapy, burnout

Therapists have to hold everyone else's pain on top of their own.

Photo by Sydney Sims on Unsplash

The exodus from the profession is more than simply the high demands of clients. There are multiple factors, including the grind of dealing with insurance companies, many of which require therapists to jump through a lot of hoops to get paid. Insurance companies often reimburse therapists well below what their actual rate of service is, and insurance companies are notorious for doing “clawbacks,” which is essentially when they take money back. Clawbacks can be done for minor things like using a 60-minute code instead of a 45-minute code even though you spent a full hour with the client. Some insurance companies don’t feel that every diagnosis deserves a 60-minute session. There have been reports of clawbacks being tens of thousands of dollars and collected several years after the date of service.

Big box therapy providers have also come in the mix, promising better hours and more control over schedules, only for therapists to feel duped and exploited. Companies like Better Help and Talkspace offer low rates of pay and often require overscheduling for a therapist to be able to make a decent salary without them having to hold a second job.

All in all, therapists are just tired, and trying to figure out what’s best for themselves as well as their clients in that state is not enjoyable or rewarding. For those seeking mental health services, the outlook is a little bleak. Of course, it is possible to find a mental health professionals to help, but it generally takes a good measure of time and effort to find the right one.

Directories such as Therapy Den and Psychology Today are good places to look to find a local therapist who is accepting new clients. Then there's Therapy for Black Girls and Clinicians of Color specifically for people looking for a Black, Indigenous or POC therapist. If you’re uninsured or underinsured you can search for a therapist offering low-cost slots on Open Path Collective.

It's not a stretch to say that the current system is broken, and that negatively impacts both therapists and clients. Of course, there are new therapists joining the profession, and therapists who have taken a step away may well rejoin the profession after a much-needed break. Let's hope that these professionals are eager (again) to help shoulder the problems of the world.

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