Laugh Moor: Unearth your funny bone

Part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival

There is growing research showing the mental health benefits of humour; that it is a skill which can be taught and developed and which we can reach for in times of stress.

Led by stand up comedian and improviser Agnes Carter and Clinical Psychologist Edel McGlanachy, this two-part workshop will teach you how to notice and look for the funny in your everyday life and how to weave it in, including how to write jokes.

Feel free to come to either one of the sessions, though we hope you'll come to both :)

31 October: Find your funny bone

In the first workshop we will explore how to notice funny in your everyday life, and explore our sense of humour

(Optional homework: keep a humour diary for the week which we'll look at in session two)

7 November: Use your funny bone

In the second workshop we will explore how to create more humour in your everyday life, including some joke-writing skills.

Come to learn about the benefits of humour, connect with others in supportive environment and ultimately, laugh moor.

Agnes Carter is a stand up comedian and improviser who also has an MSc in the Psychology of Mental Health, with her research focusing on humour and meaning-focused coping. Agnes has been performing since 2018 as a storyteller and comedian across the UK and has taken stand up shows to the Glasgow International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. She is also a founding member of Page of Cups, an improv troupe which crafts comedic scenes inspired by audience Tarot readings, playing with dark and light to bring joy to audiences. She is a skilled facilitator and has extensive experience leading mental health courses for the Thrive NHS team in Edinburgh as well as Changes Community Health Project in Musselburgh.

Dr Edel Mc Glanaghy is a clinical psychologist and researcher with over a decade of clinical experience, who dabbles in stand up comedy. She specialises in delivering and creating therapies for complex PTSD and is on a mission to promote trauma informed practice and evidence based mental health habits across Scotland. Comedy (writing, performing and consuming) provides connection between people and connection with tricky topics. Edel has experience making folk laugh about PTSD, psychological therapy and parenting at both Edinburgh Fringe and Glasgow International Comedy Festivals. She is also a skilled trauma informed trainer and group facilitator.