Clown Doctors - Le Rire Medecin

'"When a child is sick people focus on the illness, but there is still a child there, frightened, hurting, confused, sad, anxious and powerless"  

Clown doctor

The performers trained by Le Rire Medecin are not therapists; they are creative artists. Whereas most medical specialists concentrate on treating a childs illness or the reason for the hospitalisation, the clowns primarily address there "wellness". In France since 1991 the Rire Medecin's 50 professional clown-doctors work hand in hand with medical staff members.

These metaphors provide a bridge between the 'internal' and the 'external' facets of an individual. For example when a patient is in pain or extremely anxious the clowns will try to find ways to open the doors to small pleasures and victories.

If children, from the beginning of a hospitalisation, can express some of their most intense feelings of sadness, fear, anger and even joy through using the clowns as a tool, they may gain precious ground for coping with hospitalisation and medical treatments. This freedom to play and channel emotions creatively can even prepare a child for a change in his body image. They may sometimes use the clown as the scapegoat, or as a way to express refusal of their illness for example. It can give them a sense of mastery over their environment.

The clown-doctor can do and say what is often forbidden or awkward; they can express what people may need to do or say but feel constrained from doing by social pressures. If the clown must stay naive and "in the moment", the actor too needs to be theatrically strategic, stay in the present and connected to his clown character.

The language and metaphors that artists use may provide a clue as to where and how to begin a dialogue with the patient.