Clown School

Is stand-up comedy akin to psychotherapy? Yes, argues psychoanalyst Nuar Alsadir in Animal Joy:

As part of my research … I had frequented comedy clubs and noticed how each performance, had it been delivered in a different tone of voice and context, could have been the text of a therapy session. Audience members … laughed less because a performer was funny than because they were honest.

Maybe, sometimes, though styles of stand-up vary. I like to imagine a therapist whose patient is Milton Jones:

If you’re being chased by a police dog, try not to go through a tunnel, then on to a little seesaw, then jump through a hoop of fire. They’re trained for that!

My father invented the cold air balloon … but it never really took off.

I was walking along the other day, and on the road, I saw a small, dead baby ghost. … Although thinking about it, it might have been a handkerchief.

Even accounting for context and tone of voice, I imagine this text would prompt fears of therapeutic miscommunication … thou…