Up Counseling: An Exploration of Comedy, Laughter, and Treating Trauma Among Adolescents

Shannon Zogran

shannonzogran@gmail.com

Introduction: Trauma Defined

“He that conceals his grief finds no remedy for it”, (Understanding substance abuse, 2008). As the mental health field continues to voice the large body of old and new research which shows the lifelong, life altering impact trauma has on one’s livelihood, there is hope more people will understand the importance of this Turkish proverb. A traumatic event is any event, such as abuse, a natural disaster, accident, which induces a sense of distress, horror, helplessness, injury, or threat of injury or death. Trauma is the emotional response one feels after experiencing a traumatic event

A trauma response typically involves emotional effects, such as anxiety and panic attacks, and physical effects, such as fatigue, poor concentration, and body pains. What is currently known about trauma among adolescents is traumatic events impact an adolescents’ mental and physical health for years following the traumatic experience. Although trauma is in many ways an emotional response, the effects of trauma are no different from “the effects of physical lesions like strokes” on the human body (Van Der Kold, 2015). While a whole book may be written solely on different kinds of traumatic events and how various people experience trauma, this article will focus on how trauma impacts adolescents and evidence-based interventions for adolescents. A basic understanding of the biological and psychological manifestations of trauma aids in the understanding and application of this paper. It is recommended that readers preemptively review the core concepts and topics found in Bessel Van Der Kolk’s book

The Body Keeps the Score (2015).

Trauma Among Adolescents

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) released a comprehensive article highlighting how adolescents experience trauma (2008). The review focuses on the association between adolescent trauma and future substance abuse. Adolescents who experience trauma will not automatically become future substance abusers. Yet, the correlation between ineffective coping among adolescents and future drug use is one that cannot and should not be ignored. Thus, school counselors must understand how trauma symptoms present in teens and have hope that there are effective, evidence-based interventions.

NCTSN describes teens who experience trauma as responding recklessly by “taking more risks” than they normally would prior to the traumatic event, withdrawing from their normal activities, fear of “going crazy” due to their strong reaction to the event or triggers, and feeling stigmatized and that they cannot talk about the traumatic event.

Adolescents also experience “unexplained physical symptoms, difficulty regulating emotions, poor impulse control, sleep disturbances, and low self-esteem”. The statistics on teens experiencing traumatic events is disheartening and reaffirms the priority trauma-informed practices must take in schools. “Four out of ten adolescents have witnessed violence, seventeen percent have been physically assaulted, and eight percent have experienced sexual assault”. Without having someone to help them navigate their trauma and learn healthy coping mechanisms, many teens turn to substance abuse.

Following a traumatic event, between 25%-76% of teens turn to substance abuse. Although trauma, especially trauma among adolescents, is a difficult topic to

Trauma is not funny. Comedy is funny, or at least good comedy is supposed to be funny. Why on earth are comedy and trauma being discussed in the same article? It may make sense to begin by defining comedy and discussing its origins. According to the oxford dictionary, comedy is a form of entertainment with the intent of making people laugh. Oxford dictionary also describes humor as both a noun, a state of mind, and a verb, complying with one’s wishes. The overall purpose of comedy and humor is to make people laugh and to bring about a light, silly feeling. A misconception of comedy is that it must always be happy. On the contrary, some of the best comedic moments come from some of the most intense, serious times in life.

The first known use of comedy took place in fourth century B.C.E. when Aristotle described comedy’s important role in connecting “humans as social beings, rather than as private persons, and that its function is frankly corrective” (Encyclopedia Britannica, inc., n.d.). Aristotle cited comedy’s purpose as to “hold a mirror up to society to reflect its follies and vices, in the hope that [it] will, as a result, [mend].” While one may not anticipate such a deep purpose behind comedy, it is profound to learn that comedy’s original purpose is almost identical to the purpose of counseling interventions in trauma therapy. Both areas ask a traumatized person to look at themselves, to reflect on their experiences, and to share in that emotion with their community. After this is all said and done, the outcome is corrective, or in other words, healing. Profound, right? Additionally, much literature around trauma, the arts, and community support this sentiment comparing trauma interventions and the purpose of comedy. Van Der Kolk (2015) explains that community experiences and music help “create meaning beyond

Coping with Comedy: Military Veterans and Stand-Up

A basic understanding of the history of comedy and its connection to healing provides the framework needed to explore how comedy can help adolescents cope with trauma. This section of the paper will focus on a study published in 2022 titled “Comedy Bootcamp: stand-up comedy as humor training for military populations” (Olah et al.). Limitations of focusing on this article include the focus on an adult population rather than adolescents and the interventions did not take place in a school setting. Nonetheless, the results are important to note when using comedy as an intervention for trauma and the interventions can be adapted to other populations.

Olah et al. (2022) gathered data on a 72-person, stand-up comedy bootcamp which is specifically geared to military services members to build community, teach them stand-up comedy, and allow them to learn how to cope with their trauma through humor. The seven-week course involves teaching service members the basics of standup comedy and ends with a public performance where each participant gives a fiveminute stand-up set. The course follows the seven humor habits framework which includes: “(1) surround yourself with humor and reflect on your own sense of humor, (2) cultivate a playful attitude, (3) laugh more often and more heartily, (4) create your own verbal humor, (5) look for humor in everyday life, (6) take yourself lightly and learn to laugh at yourself, and (7) find humor in the midst of stress.” The immediate results indicated a significant difference among participants including increased self-esteem, less depression and stress, and greater resilience upon program completion. These results were consistent three and six months after the class completed.

Application for Adolescents

When considering what is known about trauma, comedy, and stand-up comedy as an intervention for veterans, there are a few different ways school counselors can incorporate comedic interventions in the school setting to support students who experience trauma. The main intervention coming from this research is the implementation of a small group which learns and practices some form of comedy. This can include stand-up comedy, improv comedy, or theatrical comedy. It would be important for the small group leader to be a trained counselor, to have experience in leading small groups, have some experience in comedy, and to be able to identify and recruit appropriate group members.

Overall, school counselors should consider the therapeutic benefits of comedy when supporting students who have experienced a traumatic event. The benefits of building a community, learning a new skill, and finding humor within life’s darkest moments can increase self-esteem, decrease stress, and decrease feelings of depression. Research is limited and counselors must understand their own limitations when supporting traumatized students. Yet, the implications give an excellent foundation for future use of comedy in the school setting and in supporting adolescents impacted by trauma.

This paper ends with a simple reflection and call to action. How can we endure life’s travesties without trying to find moments of joy? Counselors cannot solve their clients’ and students’ problems, but they can teach them ways to find joy on their journey and purpose in their life. Comedy and humor may be an effective treatment to achieve this goal and counselors have ignored this potential treatment for far too long.

Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I, myself, prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.”

References

Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Comedy: Literature and Performance. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 12, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/art/comedy

Olah, A., Junkin, J., Ford, T. & Pressler, S. (2022). Comedy Bootcamp: stand-up comedy as humor training for military populations. HUMOR, 35(4), 587-616. https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2022-0007

Understanding substance abuse in adolescents: A Primer for Mental Health Profesffdionals. (2008). PsycEXTRA Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/e738852011001

Van Der Kolk, Besser. (2015). The body keeps the score: Mind, brain and body in the transformation of trauma. Penguin Books.

Dr. Tamika Hibbert, drtamikahibbert@gmail.com

Culturally responsive counseling can be described as the School Counselors' ability to identify, recognize, and utilize the cultural strengths of students to increase positive outcomes. A major component of establishing a culturally responsive school counseling program involves connecting and supporting all students within the learning environment. This includes school counselors having a thorough awareness of the role that diversity, equity, and inclusion in cultivating a culturally responsive counseling environment that helps students to foster innovation, develop new perspectives, and gain further insight.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a theoretical framework that seeks to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially in the workplace, including populations who have historically been under-represented or subject to discrimination because of their background, identity, disability, and other reasons. School Counselors can apply this academic context to the educational environment by employing techniques to increase diversity. One approach involves providing support services to all students regardless of their background or demographics. Another strategy includes the counselor counseling making assumptions about the students based on a specific component of their lives. An example includes the school counselor presuming that a student does not want to participate in a small group session because English is not their first spoken language.

A culturally responsive counselor also recognizes the significance of utilizing inclusive methods to ensure that every student has access to the support services and resources provided by the department. Effective school counselors can attain this goal by employing the following four elements in their daily: relationships; shared experiences; advocacy, and a sense of identity. A school counselor can build relationships with students and enhance their sense of identity by being visible and available. Some of the techniques that help to build the school counselor and student relationship include introducing yourself to students and parents at the beginning of the school year, conducting large group sessions that discuss the role of the School Counselor, leading workshops, directing small group sessions that address students social and emotional matters, and arranging individual sessions that focus on academic, career and personal topics.

Additionally, counselors can boost inclusive practices through the sharing of individual and professional experiences with students and being an advocate. Using this type of approach allows students to recognize interests, qualities, and attributes they may have in common with the School Counselor. As a result, the student might feel more connected and relatable to the School Counselor. For instance, sharing information regarding your high school and college journey can provide students with the vision needed to develop short-term and long-term. Furthermore, encouraging the student throughout this process can help increase their levels of enthusiasm and motivation required to attain successful outcomes.

Lastly, it is phenomenal when School Counselors can implement the various practices previously discussed. However, it becomes obsolete if all students do not have access to the multiple services provided by the School Counseling program. Therefore, equitable measures must be employed to ensure that each student receives what they need to develop to their full academic and social potential. School Counselors can increase the likelihood by detecting and eradicating some of the barriers that exist in the learning environment, which include peer pressure, fear of failure, lack of self-esteem, and lack of goals and social skills.

EMBRACE Cultural Competency (Considerations for the School Counselor)

Authors: Naomi Howard, EdD; email: howardn@clarke.k12.ga.us Ervin Howard, PhD; email: Ervin.Howard@ung.edu

Cultural competence is defined as “an evolving concept that originally emerged in American healthcare provider discourse in the 1980’s as a response to concerns over health disparities observed across immigrants and persons of color” (Danso, 2018; as cited in O’Malley et. al., 2018, p. 258). It was suggested that potential nurses must possess cultural competency in order to respond effectively to the cultural needs of patients and be able to cooperate successfully with diverse members of the healthcare team (Dayer-Berenson, 2014). School counselors, administrators and educators are similar to the example of the healthcare provider in that we must not only cooperate and collaborate with diverse team members, but connect with our students and their community in order to positively affect our student’s social-emotional learning and academic achievement.

The Health Network Solutions developed strategies for cultural competency to include a variety of topics, such as value diversity, acceptance, knowledge of culture and awareness. We compiled some of these strategies along with other ideas from our professional and personal experiences for school counselors to consider as it relates to cultural competency in education. Using the acronym EMBRACE.