Red Noses and Tender Hearts: The Power of Trauma-Informed Clowning and Connection
- starbrightartsuk
- May 1
- 4 min read
Trauma can result from a wide range of experiences—such as abuse, neglect, violence, or systemic oppression—and it can have lasting effects on how people think, feel, and interact with the world. Being trauma-informed means recognising these impacts and creating environments that prioritise safety, empowerment, and trust.
In the context of art, this means designing creative spaces and experiences that are sensitive to individuals' lived experiences, avoiding re-traumatisation, and fostering opportunities for expression, connection, and healing.
In recent years, the growing body of research on trauma has radically shifted how we understand engagement in arts and cultural activities. What was once seen as simply "fun" or "creative expression" is now being reconsidered through the lens of neuroscience, psychology, and community wellbeing.
One thing is clear: arts activities must be trauma-informed if they are to be truly inclusive, healing, and effective—fostering genuine connection, meaningful communication, and a sense of community.
This insight has sparked transformation across multiple creative disciplines—but perhaps none more surprisingly than in the world of clowning
Why Trauma-Informed Arts Matter
The Arts Council of England and studies from organisations like the WHO have pointed out that arts activities have the potential to support mental health, reduce isolation, and foster resilience. But there's a catch: without a trauma-informed approach, these same activities can inadvertently re-trigger people who have experienced trauma.
Trauma-informed practice means recognising the signs and symptoms of trauma, integrating that knowledge into practices and policies, and actively working to avoid re-traumatisation. It emphasises safety, choice, collaboration, trust, and empowerment. For arts practitioners, this means slowing down, paying attention to power dynamics, and holding space for the complexity of people’s emotional landscapes.
Enter the Clown?
Clowning might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about trauma-informed work. After all, clowns carry a cultural reputation that ranges from hilarious to horrifying. But when we return to the roots of clowning—as a presence of curiosity, vulnerability, and radical empathy—it becomes clear that the clown has a unique role to play in building connection and safety.
Trauma isolates. Clowning connects.
A trauma-informed clown doesn’t perform at an audience. They play with them. They read the room. They adapt, attune, and allow people to participate (or not) in a way that honors their agency. The clown offers an invitation, not an expectation.
The Science of Connection
One of the fundamental needs of people recovering from trauma is connection—the kind of safe, attuned relationship that helps regulate the nervous system and repair trust. According to polyvagal theory, play and laughter stimulate the ventral vagal system, associated with feelings of safety and social engagement. Clowning, when done well, is a direct line to this system.
But only if it's safe.
That’s where trauma-informed training becomes essential. A clown who doesn’t understand trauma might push too hard, misunderstand withdrawal, or confuse a freeze response for consent. A trauma-informed clown, by contrast, learns to notice these cues, to de-escalate, and to stay present with compassion.
A trauma-informed approach isn’t just a set of best practices—it’s a mindset rooted in care. There are five key principles that guide this work: safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness, and empowerment. For clowns, this might look like creating a safe and welcoming environment where laughter is never forced, respecting each individual's boundaries, co-creating moments of joy with the audience, being consistent and reliable in tone and behavior, and lifting others up through shared creative expression. These principles help ensure that the clown’s presence doesn’t just entertain—it heals, includes, and invites real community.
Clowning as Co-Regulation
Trauma-informed clowning is not about putting on a red nose and making balloon animals. It’s about co-regulation: calming the body and mind through attuned interaction. It’s about helping someone laugh for the first time in weeks—or just sitting quietly with them in shared presence.
In hospital settings, refugee camps, prisons, schools, and community spaces, trauma-informed clowns are bringing laughter not to avoid pain, but to transform it. They work slowly, relationally, and with humility. And in doing so, they help create the kind of brave spaces where healing is possible.
Clowns bring healing connection and playfulness
Whether you’re a hospital clown, street performer, circus artist, or theatrical trickster, the message is clear: trauma is everywhere, and we ignore it at our peril. But clowning—when done with awareness, empathy, and intention—has a unique power to disarm fear, invite play, and create moments of genuine connection. By engaging trauma with humour, vulnerability, and heart, clowns can do more than entertain—they can help stitch the world back together, one giggle at a time.
To learn more about trauma informed clowning visit Clowns Without Borders UK
The New Humanitarian also has an interesting article about trauma-informed Clowning - click here
You might also like to watch the CLOWNVERSATION with Clowns Without Borders USA to hear about the impact that their work had on displaced refugee families in Zimbabwe.
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