Clowning for a Cause: Healthcare Clowns Offer Opportunities for Holistic Healing

The mental health benefit provided by a clown’s visit is undeniable, leaving a “long-lasting shimmer of hope and good humor in the environment,” according to Riley. At a recent hospital visit, as she and her clown partner were leaving a child’s hospital room, they noticed three doctors standing outside the room, waiting until the clowns finished so they could enter. “That never would have happened twenty years ago,” she told me, “the trajectory has been doctors would barrel in and walk right past you as if you didn’t exist. But that relationship has changed through years of being present and doing good work. [Doctors have seen] the change in mood, how kids, families, and staff feel after being visited by a professional team of clowns.” Yet consistent, good work can only be observed by people in the healthcare setting. Many healthcare clowns struggle to explain their work to people outside of that environment.