Comedy used as tool for student mental health support

Rebecca Koenig Interim Senior Editorial Director | EdSurge Research

Chris Gethard, a comedian and improv teacher, recently led a workshop for high school students in Northern California as part of the Laughing Together program. The initiative uses comedy to support student mental health by fostering social-emotional learning and peer connection. During one session, Gethard asked students to identify as objects, prompting personal revelations about identity.

“Young people right now are living in a world where those experiences are often held up in the spotlight and politicized,” Gethard noted. He highlighted how comedy exercises can help students lower their defenses and explore personal issues.

Laughing Together was co-founded by Gethard and Marlon Morgan, CEO of Wellness Together, in 2023. It aims to improve social behavior and emotional regulation among students through workshops that incorporate art, play, and game therapy research. “One of the reasons that we [partnered with Gethard] is that he had already shared about his own mental health through his comedy special on HBO,” Morgan explained.

The program has reached nearly 6,500 participants across various schools and organizations. Workshops involve professional comedians alongside psychologists to develop skills like nonverbal communication and comfort with failure.

Christina Patterson from Lincoln High School shared her experience with the program: “I feel engaged with people who are interactive — they’re not trying to teach at you, but they’re trying to teach with you together.” Her fellow student Markus Alcantar found value in exercises that metaphorically represented mental processes.

Sofia Stewart-Lopez also benefited from the workshops, gaining confidence for public speaking engagements related to mental health resources. She emphasized how laughter can be a coping mechanism for anxiety or depression.

Gethard's workshops have shown promise even among students on Individualized Education Plans (IEP). Teachers observed improved focus over time during these sessions. “After the first few workshops, a teacher came up to me and said...‘they just never got their ability to focus back after COVID,’” Gethard recalled.

Morgan reiterated the importance of creating safe spaces for risk-taking: “We’re creating that safe place for students to get real-time responses to the risks they’re taking.”

Research indicates rising rates of anxiety and depression among California children since 2017, exacerbated by pandemic-related challenges such as reduced social interaction. The Laughing Together program seeks to address these issues by providing an alternative approach through humor and engagement.