Working in the Intersection: Intimacy and Mental Health

The work of Mental Health Coordinators and Intimacy Professionals (Intimacy Coordinators for screen, Intimacy Director or Choreographer for stage) lives within a spectrum that is not always clear. Over the last few years, our team and some crucial outside eyes have developed a “Scope of Work” document to help differentiate these roles with a goal of freeing the professional to focus on their specialty, rather than attempting to be all things for all projects.

Below, you’ll find a topical breakdown of what sort of work falls into the scope of an MHC (mental health coordinator) or of an IP (intimacy professional), as well as areas where an overlap is likely or even inevitable. You'll find the column on the left articulates the responsibility of the Intimacy Professional. The column on the right is the Mental Health Coordinator's domain. In the middle? That's work that an MHC does but Intimacy Pros with additional, specialized training can also do if it falls within their scope of work!

Determining one’s place within this spectrum is an ethical and professional responsibility, and can only be determined, ultimately, by the individual doing the work. For support in determining your scope, please contact an experienced mentor in the Intimacy Professionals and/or in the AMHC community.

We honor and utilize other experts in this field who can and should be utilized to determine Scope of Work, enhance your own competencies, and for referral purposes. We commonly use: Medical Consultants, Stunt Coordinators, Special Effect/Prosthetic Artists, Cultural and Sensitivity Consultants, Legal Advisors, Union Representatives, Access/Accessibility Coordinators, and Child Coordinators.

Some factors in determining scope of work:

• RECITE: Evaluating the: Role, Environment, Cultural Competency, Conflict of Interest, Training, and your Experience prior to engaging in the work.

• Liability: misrepresentation of your scope of work is not only dangerous to the folks under our care, but could also result in personal liability. 

• Mental Health First Aid is not an adequate substitute for training as a Mental Health Coordinator, just as a single intimacy class is not enough to effectively choreograph simulated sex and nudity. 

Finally, an enormous thank you to members of our internal team who supported the development of this document, as well as those outside of AMHC who provided feedback and affirmation, including

Ash Anderson

Kristina Arjona

Claire Boston

Amanda Edwards

Brooke Haney

Katherine Kadler

Bridget McCarthy

Aryn Mott

Cutter Ray Palacios

Alicia Rodis

Jessica Steinrock

Janine Waddell

Bessie Zolno