Clown therapy: A drama therapy approach to addiction and beyond

• Published in: The Arts in psychotherapy 2018-02, Vol.57, p.88-94
• Main Authors: Gordon, Jeff, Shenar, Yoram, Pendzik, Susana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addiction; Clown role; Clown therapy; Clowning and health; Drama therapy; Embodiment; Paradox; Substance abuse rehabilitation; Transcendent function; Transitional phenomena
• ISSN: 0197-4556; 1873-5878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2017.12.001

•Clown therapy is used to treat recovering addicts.•Clown role facilitates embodiment of paradox.•Clown role serves as a container of ambivalence in the process of rehabilitation. A drama therapy approach to working with addiction using clown therapy was developed via a process through which clients were led to discover their inner clown. Using drama therapy techniques, each client’s key/dominant and oppositional personality roles were recognized and brought together through embodiment, leading to the emergence of the clown. The theoretical and practical foundation of the approach are presented here, with reference to the drama therapy literature, to the Jungian concept of the transcendent function, and to Winnicott’s transitional phenomenon. The stages of the process are described, illustrated with techniques and short case studies. Viewed as the archetypal embodiment of paradox, it is suggested that the clown can serve as a container of ambivalence, thereby acting as a strategy for normalizing paradox in the process of recovery and rehabilitation. Symbolizing the bridge between antagonistic sides of the self, the encounter with the inner clown allows individuals to tolerate and live with paradox, resolving the feeling of being stuck in a state of inner and outer conflict.