Back of camera showing preview during TV filming

Participant mental health

Behind the camera.

Increasingly, TV companies are realising the importance of ensuring participants on TV programmes and shows have the support network and psychological robustness to cope with being catapulted into the spotlight in front of millions.

I work with TV companies to assess participants for fitness to participate, be on location during filming and offer ongoing follow up support when the programme airs and in its aftermath. From development and casting to filming, editing and aftercare.

My work includes:

Duty of Care: creating and delivering frameworks that support contributors and crew throughout production and beyond.

On-set and on-call wellbeing support: ensuring contributors feel safe, seen and heard, even during challenging or high-pressure filming.

Editorial partnership: advising on psychological accuracy, risk, and ethical storytelling, so producers can tell important stories responsibly, without losing any of the emotional impact.

Specialist consultation: offering tailored input for documentaries, factual entertainment and reality TV, including pre-production training and debriefing sessions for teams.

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Credit list

From the Matilda movie to Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, I’ve worked with actors and participants on a range of productions. Here is my full credit list.

  • Celebrity Sabotage

    Nobody’s Fool

    Rich House Poor House

    Project Wilson

    Unnamed Documentary

    Unnamed Documentary

    Getting Filthy Rich

    Price of Perfection S3

    The Heat

  • Love Triangle S2

    Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway

    The Voice Wales

    Price of Perfection S2

    Happyville

    My Mum Your Dad S2

    Pilot

  • The Child Who Caught a Killer

    I Kissed A Girl

    Price of Perfection S1

    My Mum Your Dad S1

  • I Kissed A Boy

    The Truth About Rolf Harris

    Fern McCann First Time Mum

    Project Icon

    Caravan Girls

    Miscarriage Documentary

    Sepsis Documentary

  • Comic Relief 2022

    The Voice Kids UK

    The Voice Kids UK

    Our School S7 & S8

    Matilda movie

  • 25 Siblings & Me

    Epidemic

  • What would your kid Do? Pilot

  • White Kid Brown Kid

Third City

“Working with Dr Anna as the expert of Explore Learning’s Educational Anxiety campaign was a pleasure. She fed into the campaign at every step, offering us invaluable, professional insight that helped make our findings relevant and newsworthy. It’s rare to find a practitioner with such an acute news sense.”

Looking for an experienced psychologist for your next TV or film production?

Psychologist Anna Colton sat in garden smiling at camera

About me

Clinical expertise shaped by real-life experience.

I’m a clinical psychologist with over two decades’ experience in adolescent mental health, eating disorders, performance psychology and the pressures of life at the Bar.

I’m also deeply committed to educating children, parents and professionals about food and healthy eating habits, helping prevent eating disorders before they emerge. My work spans NHS services, private practice, West End productions and media consultancy, but my aim is always the same: to offer clear, warm, evidence-based support and create environments where young people and adults can thrive.