ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we describe the unique work that is done by medical clowns in the forensic facility of the ‘Sha’ar Menashe’ Mental Health Center (MHC) in Israel. The patients we meet suffer from severe mental health states, personal trauma and crisis, confusion and disarray, emotional instability and a loss of sense of reality. Some are considered dangerous because they acted on their aggressive impulses. Bringing medical clowning into this setting is not obvious, as the clowns bring with them drama, challenge and perform in ridiculous and somewhat ‘crazy’ ways. Together, clinical psychologists and medical clowns struggled to find an accurate adaptation for such encounters that should be therapeutic as well as safe. We identified three main goals: Encouraging self-reassurance and self-validation, stimulating social interaction and offering new ways for impulse and emotional regulation. We learned that what medical clowns provide is not comic relief but a new and surprising way to give our patients something that couldn’t be found in the mental health institute. We aim to show how the entrance of the clowns into the wards changes the atmosphere; it becomes a playful environment, vital and vibrant, full of magic, music and laughter.
