This Hour Has 50 minutes The Power of Improv to Improve Mental Health
9 snips
Aug 14, 2020 
Clay Drinko, an educator and improvisation researcher with a Ph.D. in drama, explores how improv enhances mental health. He shares insights on the flow state he found onstage and its link to creativity and anxiety reduction. The conversation highlights practical applications of the 'yes and...' principle in parenting and social skills development, while simple improv games help combat perfectionism and embrace mistakes. Drinko also shares cutting-edge research on improv’s therapeutic benefits and introduces exercises to bring playfulness into daily life.
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Flow Through Focus
- Improvisation produces flow by forcing intense, present-moment focus on partners and unfolding details.
- That focus reduces self-judgment and performative anxiety, creating a brain-state shift conducive to wellbeing.
Use Yes And Wisely
- Use “yes and” to accept the scene's reality and then add to it rather than blindly agreeing.
- Saying no can be appropriate when it preserves the scene’s internal logic or safety.
Hold Two Realities
- Improv trains holding two realities at once, similar to dialectical approaches in therapy.
- This lets a therapist validate a client's experience while maintaining a different perspective and moving forward.
