Therapeutic Clowns for Sick Kids
How Humor Helps Heal Children with Cancer & Other Illnesses
Sep 10, 2008
Paul Hooson is a Therapeutic Clown on Bowen Island, British Columbia. He works with sick children in hospitals (such as B.C. Children’s Hospital) and other institutions, helping kids and parents cope with cancer and other serious illnesses.
Here, Hooson gives a glimpse into the role of a professional Therapeutic Clown.
How Therapeutic Clowns Reduce Stress for Sick Kids
“A Therapeutic Clown reduces stress from hospitalization or institutionalization,” says Hooson. “Therapeutic Clowns distract kids from painful medical procedures and encourage dialogue and understanding between families, patients, and care-givers. They bring fun into a sterile and potentially frightening environment.”
Hooson explains that humor and play brings the normal experiences of childhood into hospitals and other situations where illness, isolation, and pain make life difficult. Therapeutic Clowns may not cure children with cancer – but they can reduce stress, ease pain, and strengthen relationships.
How This Therapy Clown Helps Uncover the Cause of Seizures
“Often, when kids are experiencing seizures, the cause is unknown,” says Hooson. “To find out what triggers these episodes, the medical team puts monitors on the child's head, and then expose him or her to different stimuli over a period of days. This can include sensory overload, sleep deprivation, and so on.” As a Therapeutic Clown, Hooson gets the child excited by helping him or her have a lot of fun. This helps the medical team determine what types of interactions contribute to the onset of seizures.
What Therapeutic Clowning Is Not
Hooson explains that Therapeutic Clowning is not just about entertainment.
“Our role is to build a fun, trusting relationship with the client, and hopefully bring a positive, caring element to their situation. This has a practical application: it builds self-esteem and mastery of the environment – which did not flourish before,” says Hooson.
When done in concert with the Psychology and Psychiatric Departments, Thereapeutic Clowning can be very powerful in helping children heal from the negative effects of cancer or other serious illnesses. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and doctors can springboard off of the windows that the clown opens, through simple play.
You’d Be Surprised to Learn…
“There is a serious and highly professional side to clowns working in hospitals,” says Hooson. “We are welcomed by the medical staff as an important part of the team. Children will open up to a clown, when they would not do so to a doctor. There are many instances where the clown can bring something important to the table, in terms of treating the whole child – not just mitigating the effects of an illness.”
If you found Therapeutic Clowns for Sick Kids: How Humor Helps Heal Children With Cancer & Other Illnesses helpful, you might try:
 |
