Moving the Needle on Mental Health
Angela Nino, Improv Therapy Group’s founder and CEO, was interviewed for this article by Chicago Health Online. “Sometimes, theater and therapy aren’t all that far apart. “When I was doing my own therapy and doing my own work on myself, I realized that my improv teacher and my therapist were telling me the same things,” says Angela Nino, founder and CEO of Improv Therapy Group. Nino found it easier to…
Improv Therapy Group, Transformative Therapy with Believers in the Healing Power of Laughter
CARAVAN OF THE HEART just released a new episode, called Improv Therapy Group, Transformative Therapy with Believers in the Healing Power of Laughter, featuring Improv Therapy Group’s Angela Nino, Marcy Bain, and Lisa Bany. Here is an excerpt from the description: “We find magic words and get a Bland Aid for your life. We discover the transformational power of “Yes…And.” We learn that when we commit to having each…
Red Daisies: Applied Improv for Acquired Brain Injuries
We always say that the tools you learn in Improv For Therapists can be used to help clients, but it’s always amazing to learn about it actually happening. One therapist, who just took our Improv For Therapists Level One class, has already started implementing what they learned in their work. They are a Community Support Worker who helps people with acquired brain injuries, and this particular story centers around…
IMPROV INTERVIEW PODCAST just released from Margot Escott, LCSW featuring Stephen Owen.
IMPROV INTERVIEW PODCAST just released from Margot Escott, LCSW featuring Improv Therapy Group Advisory Board’s Stephen Owen. Here is an excerpt from Margot Escott’s intro: “Although Stephen had some experience in drama in high school, he chose a path leading to a Ph.D. in political science with a specialty in criminal justice. He teaches criminal justice at Radford University, so his students are college students who plan to enter…
Using Improv to Become a Self-Advocate
Being a self-advocate is all about speaking up for yourself so that you can live the best life you can. Improv can be utilized for self-advocacy skills by assisting in confidence and public speaking, as well as communication, on-the-spot thinking and decision-making. The University of Montana’s Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities has a toolkit that uses improv to help build self-advocacy skills in Independent Living leaders…
Articulation (Do you Know What I Mean??)
Being sufficiently articulate can greatly help you on the path of life. By being able to articulate your thoughts and feelings on any given situation, you are able to live your life to its fullest potential and have more meaningful experiences. You are also better able to understand and absorb the world around you, through the method of processing your experiences into cohesive words and phrases. Improv teaches articulation by…
Improv is just fun!
Many have asked the question: why should we learn improv? And many, including myself, have answered with things like it’s good for education, useful in traveling, it’s therapeutic, etc. All of those reasons are true and fine, but there can be a much simpler, yet no less valid, answer as well. Improv is fun! Many people seem to be under the impression that in order to do something, one must…
Improv in Schools – Improv for Students
There are so many articles and studies about how teachers can use improv in the classroom to help their students, but there aren’t many discussions on how students can use improv training to help further their own education. Improv can be used in everyday class life ranging from elementary school, all the way up to university. There are many types of class activities and projects that appear frequently throughout all…
Improv and Traveling
Some people don’t travel because they’re scared of the unknown. With improv training, it is easier to face the unknown and have an awesome time doing it! That’s why improv can be a great help with traveling. The first integral part of any traveling experience is figuring out what you’re going to do, whether this be planned months in advance or on the day of. The improv skill that comes…
Benefits of Teaching Children Improv
A vital part of a healthy childhood is playtime, in which children band together to create a game, a scene, or even a whole imaginary world. Improv training from a young age can not only assist in the creativity involved in imaginative play, but it can also help to shape children into more confident and witty adults. They will become quick thinkers and more articulate speakers, more mature and respectful…
Improv and the Art of Getting Hired
You may have memorized what your strengths and weaknesses are, a story about a time you handled a tough situation in the workplace, and a mistake you’ve made in the past that you’ve learned from. But when an employer asks you how your favorite animal represents your work approach, or what fictional character you think best matches your work ethic, what on earth are you supposed to say? The answer…