From Laughter to Medicine, from Clowning to Therapy

Authors: Lalantika V

DOI: 10.23880/mhrij-16000232

Volume 7, Issue 2

Abstract

“Laughter is the best medicine,” was just a saying up until, therapeutic clowning started using humour and play to bring about emotional healing and psychological recovery. This article attempts to review 27research based articles in a thematic fashion, to develop a comprehensive understanding about therapeutic clowning, its effects across different conditions and specific populations, and how it could be established as a profession. The review not only adds to the existing literature on medical clowning, but also tries to highlight the therapeutic nature of it, and how it lends itself in maintaining the holistic well-being of the diseased or disabled. After close examination, it was found out that therapeutic clowning has positive and sustainable consequences for community well-being. This also expands further scope for future researches to measure the effects of therapeutic clowning so that it could be accepted as an intervention model or a psycho-socio-emotional rehabilitation model.

Keywords: Therapeutic Clowning; Anxiety; Psychological Recovery

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