Combining Clown Therapy and Hypnotherapy to Enhance Healing

Combining Clown Therapy and Hypnotherapy to Enhance Healing - Healing from the Inside Out

Medical clowns have a way of mesmerizing children with their performance. The magic, humor, and movements of the clown focus the child's attention. Might this be a window of opportunity for the medical clown to make a few healing hypnotic suggestions to the child?

 

Hypnosis has long been known to be a good healing aid. Even the American Medical Association has recognized this when applied by a qualified health professional. Currently, few, if any, medical clowns use hypnotherapeutic suggestions in their performance. The clown could even teach the child to hypnotize themselves for difficult medical procedures. Who better could describe flying away on a magic carpet than a clown or performer? 

The hypnotic suggestions could be embedded within the clown's performance. There are established hypnotic scripts available for children. The clown could then weave these suggestions within the performance. The child would be entertained, relaxed, and given healing suggestions all at the same time. 

On the other end of life, many senile adults are child-like. Therefore, these same techniques could be tried in geriatric settings. 

Below are listed some uses where hypnosis has helped children manage difficult situations, especially in a hospital environment.

1. Acute pain management, especially when the pain is known to be imminent, such as repeated treatment sessions. These types of treatments might include swallowing pills, injections, IV initiation, spinal taps, or bone marrow procedures.
2. Chronic pain can also be managed effectively.
3. Relaxation is known to promote healing, as well as to make medical procedures easier.
4. Anxiety might very well be impeding breathing, accelerating heart rate, and just making the child more uncomfortable than necessary.
5. Reduce cancer pain and perhaps even promote remission. Hypnosis has even been shown to improve the immune system, probably by reducing overall stress.
6. Nausea can be controlled, especially during chemotherapy.
7. Anxiety of being separated from parent and familiar surroundings can be reduced.
8. Assist getting to sleep, which of course is healing in itself.

Hypnosis is something that the Clown Doctor could learn. To ensure competent treatment, the Medical Clown could also be a licensed or certified Hypnotherapist. In addition, any hypnotic treatment should be reviewed and approved by the hospital medical team, parents, etc. 

TAKEAWAYS:

• Clown Therapy and Hypnosis are two separate agents to promote healing and relaxation.
• Hypnotherapeutic suggestions might be a good addition to a Medical Clown's performance.
• Combining Clown Therapy and Hypnotherapy might be another step toward total integrative mind-body healing.

For more information:

• Clown Care
• Hypnosis for treatment of pain in children by Alex L. Rogovik, MD PhD et al.
• Clinical Hypnosis With Children by William C. Wester et al., Brunner/Mazel Publishers, 1991
• Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy With Children by Daniel P. Kohen et al., Routledge, 2011
• Hypnosis, clowns, and video games may help relax children before a general anesthetic
• Clown Doctors Heal with Hope, Magic, and Humor

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.

Clown Therapy Using Biofeedback for Non-Responsive Patients

Clown Therapy Using Biofeedback for Non-Responsive Patients

Clown Doctors do all they can to make sure their performance is helpful for the patient. Like all clowns, they monitor audience reaction. With medical clowns, however, their "audience" is the patient. What happens when the patient's "body language" is not noticeable though?

 

Medical clowns do their best with the information available and hope for the best. Biofeedback, however, might be a tool that medical clowns could use to gauge their performance on patients where there is no visible or audible reaction.

Some examples of patients who have little or no body language are below. 

1. Injury prevents movement. Bandages hide facial expressions. Vocal sounds might not be possible. Burns hide facial expressions.

2. The patient is in a coma or similar condition. Yet, the clown performs hoping to "reach" the child on some level.

3. Necessary medications might hinder emotional response. Depression has robbed the patient of outward show of emotion.

4. The patient, especially a child, is so severely traumatized by life events. They deem any show of emotion too risky. 

With biofeedback, the clown therapist could have more information to tailor their performance for the non-responsive patient. The clown would also know they are "doing no harm" with their performance. 

To my knowledge, clowns do not typically use biofeedback to assist them in their work. Yet, it seems feasible to, at least, try this technique in those cases where they do not know if they are helping or not. 

The medical staff, of course, would assist in the use of biofeedback sensors on their patients. Typically, the goal in biofeedback is to relax. Relaxing is good for the patient to heal faster and to facilitate necessary medical treatment. Humor relaxes. There might be a brief sign of stress when the clown first starts performing but should diminish during the performance. When the clown finishes, the patient should be less stressed and more relaxed. 

Some ways biofeedback could be used are below.

 

1. Galvanic Skin Response sensors could be placed on the patient's hands or fingers to sense skin conductance.

2. The clown could glance at the Patient's Bedside Medical Monitor occasionally for signs of relaxation. In relaxation, respiration and pulse rate slows. Future medical monitors might even have an indicator to show relaxation level.

Takeaways:

• Medical clowns adjust their performance, based on the reactions of the patient and family.
• Some patients show little or no reaction to the clown's performance.
• Monitoring patient biofeedback might be helpful for both the performing clown and the patient.

References:

• Biofeedback also Skin Conductance Uses
• Alternative medicine: the definitive guide By Larry Trivieri et al. - see "Unusual Success Stories: Biofeedback and Coma"
• Emotional electrodermal response in coma and other low-responsive patients by Daltrozzo J et al.
• Biofeedback in coma rehabilitation: Case study - Frazier, Lawrence M.
• ""My son is in a coma, but I told the Clown Doctor that he can still hear us, so she played some soft music… It felt like she made contact with him… she made him happy" ...Mother of Abboudi, 5 years old - RHUH General Pediatrics" - What Parents Say
• Skin conductance measurements as pain assessment in newborn infants born at 22-27 weeks gestational age at different postnatal age by Munsters J et al.
• Clown Doctors Heal with Hope, Magic, and Humor

Some Biofeedback Tools available to the public:

• Mindplace Thoughtstream USB Personal Biofeedback
• GSR2 Home Biofeedback Unit
• CalmLink Biofeedback Software

Disclaimer - Article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.

Clown Doctors Heal with Hope, Magic, and Humor

Clown Doctors Heal with Hope, Magic, and Humor

You might think it strange, but clowns help children, and even adults, heal. 

"Medical clowns", also known as "Clown Doctors", perform healing magic each day all around the world. 

Are Clown Doctors leading us into a new phase of Mind-Body Healing?

 

Clown Doctors do their healing work mostly in hospitals. They help patients and families by using humor, magic, antics, music, stories, and other fun stuff. Children are most receptive to Clown Doctors, but adult patients find them helpful too. Humor and laughter unleash the healing power that is within each of us. 

The movie "Patch Adams" was an example of Clown Therapy. In that movie, Patch changed the medical community around him one smile at a time. Children laughed in the pediatric ward. Some adult patients smiled, even when they were dying. Patch seems to be the father of Clown Therapy. 

Clown Doctors perform a wonderful service, but I think there are additional opportunities. 

The suggestions below could even provide even greater mind-body healing.

1. The Clown Doctor could use hypnotic suggestions to augment the medicine or treatment. Of course, all this would go on under the supervision of the medical staff at the hospital. The Clown Doctor could even be a Medical Doctor. Who says they cannot be both? Patch Adams was. In addition, the Clown Doctor could be a trained Hypnotherapist. Hypnosis is a healing aid, recognized by even the American Medical Association. A large component of hypnosis is mind focusing. When a Clown Doctor performs, the child is mesmerized. As long as the child's focus is off the illness or pain, perhaps the Clown Doctor could introduce healing suggestions. The clown's mesmerizing actions could be analogous to the hypnotist's pendulum. To implement this, Clown Doctors, Medical Professionals, and Hypnotherapists could collaborate on an acceptable method of operation. By using hypnosis, at least the patient could be more relaxed during an unpleasant medical procedure.
2. The Clown Doctor could use Stage Props to instill even further healing. We could learn techniques from the history of Traveling Medical Shows. Examples of these stage props might be Healing Machines, Potions, Elixirs, Magic Healing Wands, and the like. Of course, all these would be inert devices and compounds, but would trigger the Placebo Response within the child or adult. The Placebo Response is a large part of healing and is yet unexplained. A mother's kiss on a child's injury is an example of the Placebo Effect. To relate this concept to Medical Clowns, imagine the Wizard in the "Wizard of Oz" with all the knobs, dials, smoke, etc. By using props, like the Wizard's Machine, the Medical Clown-Doctor-Wizard could ignite the healing power within the child, relieve pain, suppress autoimmune responses, etc. Examples of good props might be Healing Machines, Pill Potency Increasers, Pain Zapping Spray, etc. Modifying Quack Medical Devices from the past could provide stage props for Clown Therapy. Of course, these props would not work medically, but they sure would "look" like they would work, thus triggering the Placebo Response. Healing Machines work in Pokémon, Magic Healers are imagined in Harry Potter, "Monster Spray" works for some children, and Tricorders work in Star Trek. Perhaps, Clown Doctors and Clown Nurses could spread around some of this healing magic in an actual Children's Hospital.
3. Children's Hospitals could morph into Magic Healing Centers. Taking the concepts above, adding more, and merging them into known healing modalities, i.e. medicine or treatment could provide even greater mind-body healing. In the foreground of this new and improved Children's Hospital would be magic, fantasy, etc. The clinical aspects, such as diagnosis and treatment, would be in the background. Healing Magic would be emphasized and Medical Science would be minimized. This concept is entirely different from traditional Western Medicine, but I think it might be worth a try. I think this approach would be greater tolerated by children and even some adults. Senile patients might find benefit in this concept too.

Takeaways:

• Medical Clowns or Clown Doctors have proven to aid healing.
• Hypnosis is a recognized healing modality, which a Clown Doctor might consider using.
• Stage Props could amplify the Healing Magic of the Placebo Effect.
• Healing Magic might be the future of the more successful Children's Hospitals.
• The main goal is to heal the patient, even if we do not quite understand how it works. Scientists can figure that out later.

For more information:

• Clown Care
• Clown Doctors!
• The Clown Doctor Chronicles (At the Interface/Probing the Boundaries) by Caroline Simonds et al., Rodopi, 2004
• Hypnotherapy Of Pain In Children With Cancer by Josephine Rohrs Hilgard et al., Kaufmann, 1984
• Museum of Quackery
• "The great American medicine show: being an illustrated history of hucksters, healers, health evangelists, and heroes from Plymouth Rock to the present" by David Armstrong et al.al, Prentice Hall, 1991
• Combining Clown Therapy and Hypnotherapy to Enhance Healing
• Clown Therapy Using Biofeedback for Non-Responsive Patients

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.