Foundation Course in Medical-Community Clowning 

Rational:  "The clown is in between emotions of sadness and happiness, the healer with a flower, who is madly in love with the world."

Advisors:

Dr. Dina Eizen – expert in family medicine

Prof. Avner Ziv – Tel Aviv University lecturer on humor and psychology

Dr. Shlomo Ariel – Head of the institute for treatment through acting

Dr. Hayeem Oron – Holistic Psycho-therapist

Dr. Arik Sheinberger – Head of children's dentistry organization

Ra'aya Bar Adon – Art psychotherapist

Dr. Gabi Golan – Clinical psychologist, Sheebah hospital

Location:

Tel Aviv – Sorasky Medical Center, Henrietta Sald 13

Jerusalem-vitzo cente,' beit hacerem –  

Additional courses also take place in Haifa and Rehovot.

 

Hours:  A series of 20 meetings, once a week, total of 120 academic hours.

 

Terms of acceptance:  tryouts will be performed in special workshops.  Upon approval of participant and after a payment of 100 NIS for the workshop, participant will be able to join the course. 

Course Requirements:  Completing all the material covered in the course, attendance in the group meetings (at least 80%), a final written summary of the course which will be presented to the instructor. 

Certificate: "Therapeutic Medical Clown" certificate recognized by Soraski Medical Center and "Simchat Halev" organization.

The course is accepted by Keren Hishtalmut for teachers on sabbatical (4 mandatory hours). 

Course Topics:

-  The role of the clown in building therapeutic healing relationships

-  Instilling values of love, happiness and compassion for others as an integral part of    life. 

-  The  affect of negative and distructive behavior as opposed to positive and

    supportive behavior, on the welfare and happiness of society.

 Goals:

Allow the participants a theoretical understanding and practical application of the basic principals of therapeutic clowning. 

Develop a dialogue about the principals and vision of medical clowning. 

Understand the role of medical clowning in one's personal and professional life. 

Who is the course meant for:

Caregivers, social workers, psychologists, actors, artists, nurses, doctors, people from the educational field and any person who can gain from applying the principals of therapeutic clowning in his/her professional life.  The course is also meant for people who would like to explore the social possibilities of therapeutic clowning. 

Working methods:

The course is based on the combination of performance arts, art therapy and communication models 

The studies will consist of the following: 

Performance Arts:

n nTheatrical and drama acting for the relaxation of the mind and body* discovering my role

\ Entering the role of the clown:  discovering the clown inside of me, developing the role of the clown, the clown in different aspects, makeup, costumes and personal style. 

-  Improvisations (Spolin and Johnston)

 *working with props 

-  Creating puppets*

Balloon sculpturing*

Magic gimmicks*

Basic juggling methods. 

-  Watching parts of classical comedies (Chaplin, Kitan, Jerry Lewis) and analyzing elements of the clown 

Art Therapy:

-   Acting therapy: understanding the dynamics behind acting, developing acting skills. 

-  Music Therapy:  understanding the effect of the beat and various musical styles, vocal and percussion trials. 

-  Drama Therapy:  learning techniques for developing communications with others.  

Communication models:

NLP*developing identification with fellow-man.  Referring to verbal and non verbal ways of communication. Eliminating negative thoughts and behaviors. *EQ, thinking through feelings, developing sensitivity to various situations. Guided imagery and elements of hypnotherapy for dealing with painful situations and for gaining inner peace.

In addition, doctors and social workers will lecture on the following subjects:

 Working with special need children and adults

 The effect of traumas on human behavior

Dealing with stressful work environments

Referring and treating the patient and his family in the hospital

 Behavior of people with personality disorders

The effect of medication on various patients 

The learning environment is intended to be very interactive and will include many opportunities for feedback throughout the course.

The right to make changes in syllabus is reserved.

General Information

Personal Internship:

 Upon completion of the course and the instructor's recommendation, you will be invited to take part in an individual internship course in medical therapeutic clowning in various hospitals and treatment centers in Israel.  These five meetings will be coordinated by the Simchat Halev organization and you will be assigned to a group accordingly.  The internship will include five "hands-on" meetings with a professional instructor in various hospitals and treatment centers.

The internship is not part of the medical clowning course, and therefore will be charged separately.

You will receive a "Medical Therapeutic Clown" badge upon completing the internship successfully

Professional Lectures:

Medical Therapeutic Clowns:

After completing the internship and receiving a badge, the clowns are invited to join the "Simchat Halev" family as a long lasting member.  Simchat Halev will be in charge of organizing all the voluntary work in hospitals and treatment centers, will provide a professional environment by inviting you to lectures given by professionals, will provide enrichment, ventilations, encounters, etc. with no additional charges. 

Social Community Clowns:

After completing the course and receiving a "Medical Clown Certificate", you are welcome to join "Simchat Halev" family as a long lasting member.  Simchat Halev organizes activities for community clowns all over Israel and will be in charge of informing you regarding these activities.These activities include volunteering in the community, workshops, continuing programs, etc. with no additional charges.

The goal for these meetings is to preserve the energies, to refresh and enrich our knowledge in various fields and to reinforce happiness as a way of life.