Rx Laughter and the California Department of Mental Health - 
Reducing the Stereotypes between "patients" and "doctors" :

Rx Laughter and the Edelman West Side Mental Health Clinic, a division of the California Department of Mental Health, held a "comedy" health education workshop for people who are transitioning into independent living situations.

Classic and contemporary humorous films, discussion and improvisational comedy were combined to illustrate positive ways of coping with a topic of importance for these clients.

Psychiatrists, social workers and nurses participated in the improv sessions with the clients to reduce the barriers and stereotypes that often exist between the "patient" and the "doctor." 

Based upon the success of this workshop,  we have since developed and implemented a pilot project with the "Cancer in Other Words" writing program at the Markstein Cancer Education & Prevention Services Center at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, California.  Here, we are showing classic & contemporary humorous films and television segments to illustrate comedic ways of dealing with stressful situations.  Stay tuned for updates on "Our Projects" pages for this and more projects of this kind!

2008 Rx Laughter "Humanism in Doctoring" Program:

We have noticed that several of our volunteers are pre-med students. They express a desire to go beyond the diagnosis and treatment of disease to recognize and be comfortable treating and relating to the patient as a whole person.

We believe that this is a very significant and necessary change from the cold, authoritative, paternalistic, unequal and one-dimensional health care model between doctors and patients in the past.

As such, Rx Laughter is interested in educating these pre-med and med student volunteers to relate to patients in a one-on-one personalized way while watching funny films and television videos with the pediatric patient and family during chemotherapy and other infusion treatments.

Thus, films and television will serve as a catalyst for improved communication between the doctor and patient as part of our evolving Humanistic Doctoring initiative.

If you are a pre med or med student and would like to become involved with this initiative, please Contact Us.

Improvisational Events
Rx Laughter and ComedySportzLA

PHOTOS

The inaugural Rx Laughter comedy improv workshop began in collaboration with the ComedySportzLA theatre in Hollywood, California in 2006. This first event was for patients and families from the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Division of the Mattel Children's Hospital @UCLA.

Freedom from thinking about illness relaxes the mind, body and spirit. These improvisational workshops educate the participants on how to address interpersonal problems in productive and humorous ways. Other goals from our workshops are self-empowerment, relief from fear and worry and renewed confidence.

We are deeply appreciative of the extraordinary generosity of ComedySportzLA and the National Comedy Theatre Organization for making this inaugural event a success.

Special Thank you to Theodore B. Moore MD, Clinical Director of the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Division at the Mattel Children's Hospital @UCLA.

Positive Emotion Reference Library

Rx Laughter has compiled a reference library of the most significant research done in regard to the connection between positive emotion and health. This reference library includes a brief and clear summary of each article This reference guide is a useful resource for researchers & the general public and is made available for a reasonable fee.

Our gratitude to Joy Bhosai who worked with us preparing and summarizing the contents of this Library for Rx Laughter. Ms. Bhosai is currently a graduate student at the Yale University School of Public Health.

Separately, Rx Laughter has compiled a listing of humor research on our Reference page. Thank you to Patti Wooten, RN for her assistance in this regard.

Media Health Education

Rx Laughter educates the general public about our work through various media outlets. We also post an extensive video section on this site which includes patients, physicians and entertainment industry professionals who speak about the importance of positive emotion and health. Please visit Media for more information.