The Power of Improv to Improve Mental Health

Clay Drinko, PhD shares how he found his flow state on the improv stage and turned that passion into an exploration of improv and the brain. We dive into the latest research on improv’s effect on anxiety, aging, creativity and more. Find out how an experiment in saying “yes and…” to his daughter led to a shift in his own parenting and how simple, everyday games can help you with everything from connecting with others to embracing your mistakes.

Clay Drinko is an educator, expert contributor at Psychology Today, and the author of Theatrical Improvisation, Consciousness, and Cognition and the forthcoming Simon and Schuster book Play your Way Sane: 120 Everyday Games to Help you Calm Down, Cheer Up, Stop Spiraling, and Embrace Uncertainty. He earned his Ph.D. in drama and theatre studies from Tufts University and has Master’s degrees in education and performance studies. Clay started improvising over two decades ago and experienced firsthand the powerful effects of finding flow onstage. Thus started a lifelong journey to understand how improv affects the brain and how to harness this understanding to improve our everyday lives.

Some Highlights
Not all “yes and’s” are created equally
Holding two realities at once in therapy and in improv
Improv and parenting: How you can “Yes and” your children
Improv as a brain hack
Creative Mortification
Finding the game
Benefits of improv
Everyday improv games

Resources
Pre-order Clay's new book Play your Way Sane: 120 Everyday Games to Help you Calm Down, Cheer Up, Stop Spiraling, and Embrace Uncertainty  here
Instagram @drtamarasoles
drtamarasoles.com

Clay on Instagram
Clay on Twitter
Clay on Facebook
https://www.playyourwaysane.com/
Psychology Today Blog "Play your way Sane"
Creative Mortification
Keith Johnstone
Viola Spolin
Dr. Daniel Wiener - Rehearsals for Growth
Truth in Comedy- The Manual for Improvisation

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