Positive Emotions in Clinic Clowns Clinic Clown Interventions in Elderly with Dementia* 7
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Clowning and Posive Instuons Alberto Dionigi1,2, Willibald Ruch3, Tracey Platt3, & Jennifer Hofmann3 [email protected] Los Angeles, June 28, 2013 1University of Macerata 2Federazione Nazionale 3University of Zurich Clown Dottori 1 Positive Institutions 2 ¨ Positive psychology has put forward the concept of “positive institutions” which are ones that support positive emotions and focus on character strengths (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) ¨ In healthcare settings patients primarily come to reduce suffering (see also Harris & Thoresen, 2006), anxiety, stress, and other negative emotions that are more prevalent than positive ones ¨ How can institutions such healthcare settings become positive institutions? Positive interventions (including humor and clowning) Clowning as Humor Intervention 3 ¨ Clowning within health settings can be seen as the application of humor intervention within an institution (Linge, 2011; Ruch et al., 2010) ¨ Humor is not the only strength linked to clowning in health settings ¤ Clowning may activate strengths ¤ i.e. creativity, curiosity, and open mindedness are present in clowns and promoted in patients ¤ i.e. patients and relatives might experience hope and gratitude after clown interventions Clowning in Health Settings (Dionigi et al., 2012) 4 ¨ Professional clowns started working in hospitals in 1986 ¨ Karen Ridd (Robo the Clown), a child life specialist, founded the first Canadian therapeutic clown program at Winnipeg Children’s Hospital (Canada) ¨ Michael Christensen along with Jeff Gordon, two famous clowns of the Big Apple Circus in New York, founded the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit (USA) ¨ The programs are still alive and well and they gave the basis to two different kinds of approach: ¤ the solo therapeutic clown (Karen Ridd’s model) ¤ clown doctors working in pairs (Christensen and Gordon’s model) Research around the world Italy = 5 UK = 4 USA = 3 Spain = 2 Portugal = 1 Israel = 5 Sweden = 4 Denmark = 1 Australia = 4 Brazil = 1 Germany = 1 Netherlands = 1 Our studies 6 ¨ Aims ¤ Focus on positive emotions ¤ Provide evidence that the presence of clowns has the potential to change institutions into positive ones ¨ Overview ¤ Clinic Clown Interventions in Elderly with Dementia n Measuring facial expressions ¤ Emotions Elicited in Patients and Observers by a Clown and a Nurse Intervention ¤ Positive Emotions in Clinic Clowns Clinic Clown Interventions in Elderly with Dementia* 7 ¨ Research Questions: Do clinic clowns elicit positive emotions? How can we measure this in people that lost verbal communication skills? ¨ Sample: 23 residents of two nursery homes with slight to severe dementia (Age M1 = 90.58; SD1 = 5.70; M2 = 86.55; SD2 = 3.98) ¨ Methods and Procedure: Filming of clown sessions and analysis of spontaneous facial expressions with the Facial Action Coding System (FACS; Ekman, Friesen, & Hager, 2002) à searching for “Duchenne Smiles” and peer-reported affect and behavior (nurse ratings) *A collaboration of the University of Zurich, the APH Moosmatt, Clown Wieni, and Seniorenzentrum Gritt Neutral Face Polite Smile Duchenne Smiles AU 6 AU 12 Results ¨ Duchenne smiling and laughter appeared to different frequencies for different clown strategies (music and clumsy behavior elicit most smiles and laughs) ¨ Duchenne Displays correlated with the dementia severity (r = .70, p < .01) ¨ Negative Affect decreased from pre to post clown sessions (p < .05) ¨ Communication behavior improved (p < .05) ¨ Residents felt less pain (p < .05) ¨ Positive feedback from staff and relatives Emotions Elicited in Patients and Observers by a Clown and a Nurse Intervention (Auerbach, Ruch, & Fehling, 2013) ¨ Aim: Study the effect of a hospital clown intervention on the emotional experience of N = 42 adult patients of a rehabilitation center ¨ 2 patients received together a hospital clown and a nurse intervention, one in the role of the participant, one in the role of the observer ¨ At baseline and after each intervention they filled out the CLEM-29 ¨ Dimensionality of the CLEM-29: amusement (e.g., hilarity, playfulness), transcendence (feeling uplifted and surpassing the ordinary, e.g., elevated, appreciated, freed), unease (e.g., threatened), arousal (high arousal = overexcited, low arousal = touched) Results 11 ¤ Amusement and arousal higher at clown intervention than at nurse intervention ¤ No difference in transcendence between clown and nurse ¤ No negative emotions reported, and no differences found ¤ Interaction: At baseline, participants were higher in arousal than observers, at clown intervention observers were higher than participants à witnessing an act of moral kindness leads to a rise in transcendence (e.g., elevation; Algoe & Haidt, 2009) ¤ Transcendence was the most important predictor of a global positive evaluation of the hospital clown intervention The research shows that the variety of positive emotions elicited in patients during hospital clown intervention has been underestimated! Positive Emotions in Clinic Clowns 12 ¨ Research Questions: Do clowns experience positive emotions during their activity? Which ones? ¨ Sample: 123 Italian Clinic Clowns (Age M = 37.46, SD = 10.67, Range 17 – 69 years) ¨ Instrument: PEEQ (Hofmann et al., 2012) ¨ 16 enjoyable emotions (Ekman, 2003): Amusement, Excitement, Contentment, Relief, Wonder, Fiero, Naches, Elation, Gratitude, Schadenfreude, Ecstasy, the 5 sensory pleasures ¨ Joy, Interest, Love, Awe, Challenge, Tenderness, Compassion Posive Emoons Experienced 5.99 5.97 5.97 5.97 5.95 5.94 by Clinic Clowns 5.59 5.55 5.49 5.45 during Clown Interven-on* 5.12 5.08 4.89 4.76 4.59 4.43 4.07 4.02 3.26 3.24 3.02 2.38 1.39 Conclusion 14 ¨ Studies on clowning in health settings suggest that clown interventions have positive effects on patients, observers and staff (short-term) ¨ Clown intervention is a positive intervention linked to different strengths ¨ Clown interventions elicit positive emotions and decrease negative ones both in the recipients and in clinic clowns ¨ The implementation of clowns into a variety of settings has the potential to render these institutions positive institutions Thank You! 15 References 16 Algoe, S. 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