‘Dance Moms’: An On Set Child Psychologist Helped 1 Cast Member Deal With Panic Attacks
It’s no secret that Dance Moms wasn’t an ideal environment for members of the cast. Over the years, plenty of cast members have spoken out about the emotional toll that the popular reality TV show took on them. This was especially true of the dancers, who ranged in age from 6 to 16. In fact, the show was so intense that a child psychologist was employed to help the girls cope with the often volatile environment.
Brynn Rumfallo had frequent panic attacks during her tenure on ‘Dance Moms’
One cast member who has spoken openly about the benefits of the child psychologist is Brynn Rumfallo. Dance Moms viewers were first introduced to the dancer and her mother, Ashlee Allen, in season 5. However, the duo became official cast members in season 6 and stayed until nearly the end of season 7. Rumfallo’s tenure on the show was often rife with drama. Since her mother was cast to be a pot stirrer, she often found herself in the eye of the storm of drama.
Rumfallo has been candid about the fact that her time on Dance Moms was sometimes challenging for her to cope with. As a child, she dealt with a ton of anxiety and would have frequent panic attacks thanks to the show. Fortunately, she had one pillar of support because the show employed a child psychologist. In an episode of her podcast Double Take, the dancer explained how important it was for her to have that resource during her time on the show.
Rumfallo reveals that the show employed a psychologist to help the dancers deal with the drama
“So for the kids, there is a child psychologist on set because of how, sometimes, crazy things can get,” Rumfallo shared. “They’re literally that person there to talk to when sh*t goes down.” Continuing on, Rumfallo revealed that the psychologist would often help her calm down when her anxiety reached a breaking point. “Id’ have these panic attacks,” she shared. “I would itch my arms so hard, like my forearms. I’d itch my neck, my whole chest would be red, and I’d have to sit down with this psychologist, and she’d have to calm me down.”
How was the child psychologist able to calm the ‘Dance Moms’ cast down
But how was the psychologist able to calm Rumfallo down? According to the dancer, by reminding her that her mom and the other Dance Moms cast members were just playing roles for the sake of TV. “The psychologist, which bless her soul, love her; she was like so sweet,” Rumfallo admitted. “But she would have to just calm you down. Tell you like, ‘It’s OK. This is just their job.’ And it’s so crazy. And I wasn’t even on the show that long, so I can’t even imagine the other girls’ childhood. Like, oh my gosh.”
Clearly, being on Dance Moms came with a number of difficulties. While it’s good that there was a psychologist on set to help the girls process their feelings, it’s sad that the show caused them so much emotional turmoil. As popular as the reality TV show was, it was clearly damaging to many members of the cast.
