{"id":9329,"date":"2026-04-02T11:29:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T09:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecdf.be\/?p=9329"},"modified":"2026-04-02T11:29:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T09:29:55","slug":"clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecdf.be\/en\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\/","title":{"rendered":"Clowns in Healthcare: Some Quick Insights"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-large size-large aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/ecdf.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-11-at-09.00.45-1024x768.jpeg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecdf.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-11-at-09.00.45-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/ecdf.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-11-at-09.00.45-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/ecdf.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-11-at-09.00.45-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/ecdf.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-11-at-09.00.45-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/ecdf.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-11-at-09.00.45.jpeg 1600w\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\"><\/figure>\n<p>An international gathering of healthcare clowns sounds like a lot of fun. But what exactly do they talk about? And why is that important? Sven has shared three insights with us.   <\/p>\n<h3>1. Healthcare clowns are gaining momentum<\/h3>\n<p>The profession is growing. The settings in which healthcare clowns work are becoming increasingly diverse\u2014ranging from pediatrics to psychiatry and nursing homes, all the way to war zones.  <\/p>\n<h3>2. Science and art are coming together<\/h3>\n<p>There are new scientific insights into the impact of humor on health and into how human connection affects the nervous system.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Presence is key<\/h3>\n<p>Clowning is all about your relationship with your own presence. When you find calm, you help the other person find their own balance. Our nervous system responds to that of the people around us. When a connection is established, the clown can take another person into a world of play and fantasy\u2014and from that world, a sense of empowerment can be cultivated. In this way, the patient or audience member is invited to tap into their own strength.    <\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">Come find out for yourself at MAD Convention<\/h2>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">On <strong>Sunday, April 19<\/strong>, Sven will lead a workshop titled <em>Clowning in Healthcare<\/em> at MAD Convention in Antwerp. He will draw on insights from the international meeting and make them tangible: How do you work on your own presence? How do you build rapport? And how do you use that connection to create space for play?   <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">\ud83c\udfe5 <strong>Clown in Healthcare with Sven <\/strong>\u2014 Sunday, April 19, at 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM, and 2:15 PM<br \/>\n\ud83d\udccd MAD Convention<br \/>\n\u2757 Only day passes available<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.madfestival.be\/nl\/conventie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Or immerse yourself in the wonderful world of clowning during the Summer Clowning Course<\/h2>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">This summer course isn\u2019t specifically about clowning in healthcare, but the core principles are the same: learning to be fully present, connecting with others, and creating something authentic from your own perspective. The insights Sven brings back from international conferences, such as the one in Switzerland, are woven into every week of the course. <\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"><strong>There will be two more information sessions coming up soon:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3\">\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Live information session with a free workshop: <strong>Saturday, April 11<\/strong>, 2:00 PM, ECDF training room, Park Spoor Noord<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Online information session: <strong>Sunday, April 26<\/strong>, 2:00 PM via Teams<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ecdf.be\/evenementen\/live-infosessie-summer-clowning-course\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Find out more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this month, Sven Verelst traveled to the Healthcare Clowning International Meeting in Switzerland. He\u2019s returning with new insights, which he\u2019ll immediately bring to the MAD Convention and the Summer Clowning Course. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[64],"class_list":["post-9329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-making-circus","tag-clowning-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Clowns in Healthcare: Some Quick Insights - Ell Circo D&#039;ell Fuego<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Three insights our resident clown, Sven Verelst, brings back from the Healthcare Clowning International Meeting in Switzerland.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ecdf.be\/en\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Clowns in Healthcare: Some Quick Insights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Three insights our resident clown, Sven Verelst, brings back from the Healthcare Clowning International Meeting in Switzerland.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ecdf.be\/en\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ell Circo D&#039;ell Fuego\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T09:29:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-02T09:29:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ecdf.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mad-festival-2025-34-scaled-e1774963342290.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Wenke\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Wenke\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecdf.be\\\/en\\\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecdf.be\\\/en\\\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Wenke\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecdf.be\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d7e42093765ae47f3a1fd50769f7fae0\"},\"headline\":\"Clowns in Healthcare: Some Quick Insights\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-02T09:29:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-02T09:29:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecdf.be\\\/en\\\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":369,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecdf.be\\\/en\\\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecdf.be\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/Mad-festival-2025-34-scaled-e1774963342290.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Clowning\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Making Circus\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ecdf.be\\\/en\\\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecdf.be\\\/en\\\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecdf.be\\\/en\\\/clowns-in-healthcare-some-quick-insights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Clowns in Healthcare: Some Quick Insights - 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