Joke Therapy/Humor in the workplace

[Judyd]

Once I was working in long term therapy and had a depressed pt who had a stroke. She would not come out of her room even for meals. I got all the aides to start working with me to tell her a good clean joke every time they went in her room. It became a real challenge to find that many good clean jokes. Well the aides started getting other residents to think of some jokes for them to tell her. The other residents became involved and some even started going to her room to tell her their joke, after a week or to she started telling me and the aides jokes she had heard. after about a month there were so many going to her room, she decided to come out for meals. Joke therapy worked. Can anyone else tell some real life experiences about humor in the work place.

[Aaron C.]

good post!

[Jerryh53]

hey Judy, very good post. It's amazing how much u can acomplish with laugher. and even more important, it's amazing how much u can acomplish when u get others involved, as in the other pt's.

Jerry

[Judyd]

Thanks for the reply Jerry, This was the same nursing home I was passing around home grown garlic buds. My sister worked there and told the pts if I did not label it, and it had been there longer than three days she would throw it out. It's amazing how fast the garlic went underground. LOL

[Jerryh53]

Speaking of nursing homes, my mother is in one and one of the things that most of them like to get involved in, is the gossip mill. Its about the same as pts going to other pts and telling them their jokes. These people visit in diff rooms on diff days and discuss the current gossip. Keeps their minds occupied and seems to keep them active in that area.

Jerry

[Judyd]

I love this idea. Inquiring minds want to know... And it promotes interaction with each other and helps new comers get to know each other.. In this same home once during a blizzard;(when the same staff had been there over 36 hours) they took w/c patients into a small dining room with tile floors and carried snow into the dining room on a laundry cart and unloaded in onto water proof sheets on the dining room table and let the patients play with it. They loved it and made small snowmen, Activity Therapy brought in buttons etc to use. You probably guessed already, it ended with a snow ball fight. No one minded cleaning the mess though and great fun was had by all.

[Judyd]

Jerry, My sister still works in the nursing home I keep talking about. I told her of your Gossip idea and how it is keeping the pts intereacting. She told me they have started another thing now. After activities, they have all started playing the "Chicken Song" The aides starte doing the dance, and now more and more of the pts are trying to use more and more body parts doing the "Chicken Dance" You just never know what will catch on do ya.

[Jerryh53]

LOL that would be a very interesting thing to see. the chicken dance,, now how cool is that, tell her to kep it up, we might have to get a video of it and pass it around. And by the way thanks, if it wasnt for you i wouldnt have any posts to read le t alone reply to

Have A Great Day

Jerry

[Judyd]

Wouldn't it be neat to get one of those didgital video camera moving pictures of them doing the chicken dance and put it on line here.
Wishing there was a way.

[Aaron C.]

Well Jerry, get some people on here!

It's too bad more people can't find us, because this is a good forum. DANGIT!!!!! I'm working on it though! We'll get them here sooner or later.

Without the two of you, this place wouldn't exist.