Change your state - ​change your world!

About Me

I’m Katie, I am an Occupational Therapist with a specialist interest in the use of humour and laughter. I obtained a ​First Class classification in my undergraduate research on the role of Humour in Occupational Therapy and have ​presented in National and International Conferences on the topic of Humour in Healthcare.

I have over 18 years’ experience in creating and facilitating evidence-based psycho-educational and skills- based ​workshops, working in mental and physical health settings to optimise function and wellbeing. A large part of my ​work included work retention intervention, which has afforded me an understanding of a broad scope of workplaces ​and their issues from both the employer’s and employee’s perspectives. Stress, sickness rates, workplace culture, ​staff retention and communication are key areas. Laughter sessions are an effective intervention for positive change - ​the evidence backs this up.

With a lifelong passion for comedy I turned to improvisation sessions and stand-up comedy to alleviate my levels of ​stress and found techniques and strategies to help me reframe and cope with stressors, techniques which I continue ​to use today. As a partaker in groups I am able to better comprehend anxieties around starting something new - ​whether with people I know or strangers. As an Occupational Therapist I am able to analyse and adapt tasks and ​environments to include all and allow every person to feel a sense of wellbeing and achievement.

I am trained to Advanced Level as a Laughter Yoga Leader, training directly with its founder Dr Madan Kataria. This ​includes evidence based benefits of laughter on health, productivity, life enhancement and social bonding.

Laughter Yoga

A combination of breathing and playful ​laughter exercises. No thinking needed ​and n​o poses involved!

Laughter Yoga was created by a medical doctor in 1995 in India in recognition of how great it feels to really laugh for a ​sustained period of time. No need to rely on jokes or humour.

Utilising sustained belly laughter and a series of short, fun playful exercises this session is a dynamic meditation, ​completely frees the mind and gets a cocktail of great chemicals flowing, including endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin, ​dopamine. It inhibits the production of cortisol (stress hormone). This chemical activity continues for a period of time ​following the session.

Simulated laughter soon turns to real belly laughter and both types of laughter give the body and brain the same effect.

The more you laugh, the better you feel and you find people respond to you more positively - because you are giving ​positive body language, more easily smiling and laughing.

Change your state, change your world!

Happy Hour

Skilful use of basic building blocks of comedy, participants are facilitated to create ​associations and make each other laugh. Easy to use and no cringey elements!! Great ​for freeing up thinking , bonding and reframing stressors.

Used constructively, humour can enhance team working by reinforcing group values and strengthening shared ​bonds, gaining group cohesion. Additionally it can aid individuals’ understanding of a team’s underlying ​philosophy.

I offer sessions using humour and laughter to improve communication and interpersonal relations between close ​or geographically distant team members, and between employers and employees within the work environment. ​When people use skills in their own environment they are more able to utilise the skills and feelings of enhanced ​wellbeing far more effectively than strategies disconnected and away from the familiar environment.

Why is Humour important? Humour has a multitude of positive effects on the brain and body and is a highly ​effective tool to connect people, improve creative thinking, problem solving abilities, confidence, adherence to ​team values and productivity. And that’s not an exhaustive list of its attributes!

Offered as a one off session or a series of sessions, I can provide humour intervention in person or via zoom which ​will enhance your team’s effectiveness. Sessions are easily adaptable to allow each attendee to feel a sense of ​achievement and wellbeing.

Health

Gets the endorphins flowing! Increases serotonin and dopamine production and oxygenates the brain and body. Great to ​lower blood pressure and give the system a cardio-vascular workout. Increases lung capacity, works the muscles leading to a ​deep feeling of relaxation afterwards, decreases physical and emotional pain, promotes good sleep. Laughing regularly ​builds resilience, allowing us to deal with life's obstacles better. Decreases cortisol, the stress hormone. When you laugh you ​cannot feel stressed it's a fact!

Productivity

All those great chemicals that flood the brain and body when we laugh also help us to perform tasks better. When laughing, ​we are resting the logical side of the brain and refreshing our thinking patterns, creating new neural pathways and seeing all ​kinds of other possibilities. Laughing together unites us and we work more efficiently with others because we feel connected. ​Dopamine is the chief motivator and it is released in spades when we laugh!

Social

Laughter is the ultimate equalizer and also the swiftest way to connect to others. No language is needed! Laughter deepens ​relationships, making us feel closer to others. Eye contact makes laughter contagious as it sparks our mirror ​neurotransmitters, which create empathy. Laughter promotes creativity and connection which can lead to efficient ​collaboration. When we have laughed together we seek eye contact when we next see each other and smile more easily.

Research shows that companies with higher levels of employee engagement and happiness outperformed other companies ​financially by 19% (Hewlett and Associates).

FAQs

Is it appropriate to be laughing at work? Absolutely. Humour eases tension, allows us to connect more easily with others, helps us reframe ​stressors. A good belly laugh is great exercise for the body – exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs, decreases stress induced muscle tension, ​and has cardiovascular benefits. Laughing reduces stress hormones adrenaline, cortisol, dopamine and growth hormone and increases production ​of endorphins which boost mood.

Isn’t laughing unprofessional? On the contrary. Humour use demonstrates a high level of emotional intelligence and an empathy towards others, a ​smile is a universal language. Humour facilitates a speedier formation of rapport with others and is often likened to being an emotional emollient. ​People who are open to humour are perceived as being more approachable and therefore more effective and open conversations can take place, ​for example between clients and staff, managers and employees, and between colleagues.

Why would I pay to make my employees laugh? Employees are more likely to remain loyal to a company who value humour, leading to lower rates ​of staff turnover and the benefits of laughing are proven to increase productivity and problem-solving skills to name a few. Some employees are ​currently working from home and are not physically in contact with one another, potentially causing a disconnect. Humour allows people to ​assimilate with the company’s philosophy thus providing a consistency throughout the company.

Humour exercises encourage people to think laterally and creatively alone and together which leads to greater ability to problem solve. Laughter ​creates a relaxed feeling in the body and environment enabling people to feel good and connect more easily with each other. Laughing is ​contagious thanks to the mirror neurons in the brain so seeing each other in this context naturally spreads the wellbeing benefits throughout the ​attendees.

Large organisations naturally risk “silos” of workers consequently effecting the potential efficiency of business. A humour session can get people ​working together and laughing together and likely resulting in a more united workforce.

A meta-study of 275,000 people in more than 200 studies found that higher levels of employee morale and happiness translated into lower ​absenteeism rates, lower employee turnover rates, higher sales, more creativity and higher productivity. (Mike Kerr - Why humor in the workplace ​is a key to success)

Isn’t it a bit “cringey”? No. I will ensure that your team’s members and the team’s aims are understood and the content will be created specifically ​with these elements in mind. My specialist knowledge in humour includes its potential detrimental effects and the content will not allow for this. I ​am experienced in creating and facilitating groups and as an Occupational Therapist I am aware of individuals’ differing needs skills and able to ​facilitate each person to feel a sense of achievement and participation. I am also aware of the potential to greatly benefit the team, which is why I ​am offering this service.

Get in touch:

humour4health@gmail.com