Improv: Fostering Connection in Challenging Conversations (243)

Improv in Therapy and in Life –

Explore the power – and sheer fun – of using improvisation in therapy!

Dr. Ann Kelley and Lisa Kays discuss how improv can deepen conversations around tough topics like race and oppression. They examine white supremacy culture and show how improv values like collaboration, slowing down, and embracing complexity can challenge these norms. Improv fosters creativity, playfulness, and self-reflection to help reduce defensiveness and strengthen relationships in everyday life, at work, or in our closest relationships. By creating a supportive, collaborative environment, improv deepens connections and helps people tap into a wider range of emotions.

“A culture of improvisation is collaborative – it is nature – you cannot do it by yourself.” – Lisa Kays

Time Stamps for Improv in Therapy & Life

03:30 The integration of improv and tough conversations
10:03 The origins of improv and its connection to social justice
14:27 Contrasting white supremacy culture and improv culture
19:20 Questioning cultural norms and valuing relationships
25:29 The power of the ‘And’ in joining and connecting
38:27 The power of improv in building secure relationships
53:25 Embracing creativity and letting go of perfectionism
58:12 Creating a culture of support and collaboration
01:05:04 Applying improv in everyday life
01:09:10 Deepening connections and accessing different emotions

About our Guest for Improv Therapy – Lisa Kays LICSW, LCSW, LCSW-C

Lisa Kays, LICSW, LCSW-C, LCSW, is an independently licensed clinical social worker in Washington, D.C, Maryland, Virginia, Oregon and New Jersey. She obtained her MSW from Catholic University in 2011 and has worked in a variety of clinical settings. Since 2013, she has been in private practice, providing individual, couples and group therapy to adults. She has interest in social work ethic and has published on and leads ethics training on the intersection of technology, social media and social work ethics as well as anti-racism and systemic oppression. Her practice also provides opportunities for other presenters to develop CE trainings on under-taught topics linked to social justice, systemic racism, and oppression. In addition to her traditional psychotherapy work, Lisa was a performing improviser from 2007-2019 and was on the faculty of Washington Improv Theatre from 2008-2016. She developed Washington Improv Theater’s first Improv for Therapist’s class and has offered Improv for Therapists courses, workshops and trainings to individual clinicians, pastors, life coaches, and psychiatrists, as well as clinical agencies. Since its inception, Lisa has trained more than 500 people in the application of improvisation to foster personal growth and stronger and more cohesive groups. Lisa has been invited to lead trainings in improv-informed therapy at the American Academy of Psychotherapists, the Mid-Atlantic Group Psychotherapy Association, the American Group Psychotherapy Association, and at The Psychotherapy Networker, among others. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post and on NBC4. Recently, Lisa launched a humor, humility-infused podcast, “What if Nothing’s Wrong With You?” with co-host Paula D. Atkinson on themes related to therapy, mental health, oppression, patriarchy and how it’s all interconnected.

Resources for Improv Therapy – 

Lisa Kay’s – Website & Resources

The Fierce Urgency of Now: Improvisation, Rights, and the Ethics of Cocreation (Improvisation, Community, and Social Practice) – by Fischlin, Daniel; Heble, Ajah; Lipsitz, Geor