Being a therapeutic clown- an exploration of their lived experiences and well-being

Therapeutic clowning uses humor and play to minimize the stress for patients and their families during hospitalization. This study aims to explore the subjective meaning of therapeutic clowning through clowns’ perspective, understand why they continue clowning and interpret how it has impacted them. The research design takes a qualitative approach using phenomenological paradigm. Nine therapeutic clowns between 20 and 60 years with clowning experience of 6 months-4 years from Compassionate Clowns, located at Bangalore were interviewed. The results reflected that the journey of being a therapeutic clown has been equally therapeutic for the clowns. Based on the thematic data analysis network, it was found that clowning has instilled many values in the way they think. It has given them a platform to learn new things from the children they clown. Therefore, looking at these results it could be said that therapeutic clowning serves as a medium for community service and in maintaining personal wellbeing.