The therapy beneath the fun: Medical clowning during invasive examinations on children

Shoshi Ofir, Dafna Tener, Rachel Lev-Wiesel, Avi On, Nessia Lang-Franco

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective. The qualitative research presented here is part of a larger project on the significance of medical clowning during invasive examinations in children in the Department of Gastroenterology and the Center for the Sexually Abused in a hospital in Israel. It investigated what makes up the essence of medical clowning, what skills and techniques are used by medical clowns, and whether their work contains therapeutic elements. Methods. A total of 9 children undergoing invasive examinations and 9 of their accompanying parents participated in semistructured interviews, which were analyzed using a thematic analysis methodology assisted by an Atlas-ti software program. Results. The interviews revealed that the medical clowning intervention during invasive examinations was essentially therapeutic, with the clown using theatrical and clowning tools to incorporate therapeutic elements such as empowerment, reversal of role, reframing, and building a therapeutic alliance. In addition, during the invasive examinations, the medical clowning followed the model of brief crisis intervention therapy. Conclusion. The study advances the need to incorporate medical clowns as an integral part of medical teams performing invasive procedures and to include clowns in all stages of the hospital visit when children undergo invasive examinations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)56-65
Number of pages10
JournalClinical Pediatrics
Volume55
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2016

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© SAGE Publications.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was partly funded by the Magi Foundation. We would like to thank Ms Sharon Lander and Ms Dina Elyashiv for their valuable contribution to the project. Thanks also to the staff members of the Center for the Sexually Abused and the Gastroenterological department for opening their doors and hearts.

FundersFunder number
Magi Foundation

    Keywords

    • child sexual abuse
    • invasive examination
    • medical clowning
    • pediatrics
    • therapy

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