--- title: "The Healing Corps" url: https://thehealingcorps.com/ description: "The Healing Corps is a Phoenix community health initiative shifting the healthcare paradigm from an interventional model to a preventive one, through humanitarian clown." published: 2021-06-23 updated: 2021-04-25 --- # The Healing Corps Published 2021-06-23 · Updated 2021-04-25 Articles · Field report ## Clown therapy in Peru: Maria returns A clown-clinician listening in a public setting, the form of encounter the Truth Clinic is built on. For the last 7 years, I have been traveling with Dr. Patch Adams, the world’s most recognized humanitarian clown, and 100 other clowns from around the world, to participate in the Belén Festival. This is a community health project that educates people, promotes wellness, and brings joy, hope, and healing to this impoverished community in Iquitos, Peru. Clowns conduct dozens of workshops (from the art of trapeze to puppetry); they paint murals, create art projects, and visit hospitals, prisons, and orphanages. In addition, for the last 4 years, clowns who also are health care professionals conduct mental health clinics in the streets. [Read the full report →](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/clown-therapy-in-peru-maria-returns/) ## Recently filed [01**Best Tools for Bulk WhatsApp Marketing in 2026 for Ecommerce and D2C Brands**Oct 05, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/best-tools-for-bulk-whatsapp-marketing-in-2026-for-ecommerce-and-d2c-brands/) [02**What Is the Best Email Automation Software in 2026?**Sep 22, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/what-is-the-best-email-automation-software-in-2026/) [03**CLIA Full Form in Medical Billing Explained**Sep 14, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/clia-full-form-in-medical-billing/) [04**9 Best Tools for Automating WhatsApp Customer Support in 2026**Sep 12, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/9-best-tools-for-automating-whatsapp-customer-support-in-2026/) [05**What Is the Best AI Team Assignment Automation Software in 2026?**Aug 23, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/what-is-the-best-ai-team-assignment-automation-software-in-2026/) [06**Best Menopause Care Platforms for Menopause-Certified Specialists in 2026**Aug 12, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/best-menopause-care-platforms-for-menopause-certified-specialists-in-2026/) [07**Top 3 Infrared Saunas for Diy Kits**Aug 08, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/top-3-infrared-saunas-for-diy-kits/) [08**Top 3 Menopause Care Platforms for At-Home Lab Kits**Aug 07, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/top-3-menopause-care-platforms-for-at-home-lab-kits/) [09**Why Is Medicai the Best for Vendor-neutral Archive Capabilities?**Aug 04, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/why-is-medicai-the-best-for-vendor-neutral-archive-capabilities/) [10**7 WhatsApp Bulk Message Sender Platforms With Automation Features**Aug 02, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/7-whatsapp-bulk-message-sender-platforms-with-automation-features/) More [11**Why Is Medicai the Best for AI-integrated Workflow Tools?**Aug 02, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/why-is-medicai-the-best-for-ai-integrated-workflow-tools/) [12**Why Is JoinJosie the Best for Evidence-based Treatment Plans?**Jul 31, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/why-is-joinjosie-the-best-for-evidence-based-treatment-plans/) [13**Why Is Saunacloud the Best for Diy Kits?**Jul 30, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/why-is-saunacloud-the-best-for-diy-kits/) [14**Top 5 WhatsApp Business API Platforms for Small Businesses Who Need Multi-Channel Support**Jul 27, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/top-5-whatsapp-business-api-platforms-for-small-businesses-who-need-multi-channel-support/) [15**Why Is Saunacloud the Best for Zone-based Dome System?**Jul 24, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/why-is-saunacloud-the-best-for-zone-based-dome-system/) [16**Sectra vs Medicai for Cloud PACS**Jul 20, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/sectra-vs-medicai-for-cloud-pacs/) [17**Why Is Medicai the Best for Connects with EHRs?**Jul 19, 2026](https://thehealingcorps.com/why-is-medicai-the-best-for-connects-with-ehrs/) ## Our programmes Training and clinic Level 1 ### [Humanitarian Clown Healing 101](https://thehealingcorps.com/training/) The psychobiology of how laughter, humor, playfulness and spontaneity affect the brain and strengthen the immune system: setting the stage to open lines of communication, facing vulnerability and embarrassment, sharing your truth in words, silence, pantomime and movement, and curbing judgement to listen actively. Level 2 ### [Humanitarian Clown Healing 102](https://thehealingcorps.com/training/) The continuing exploration: accessing your unconscious mind and its intuitive wisdom, trusting that the heart knows things the mind cannot conceive, developing a clown character, and working with props, voices and puppets. Level 3 ### [Becoming a Truth Fairy](https://thehealingcorps.com/training/) Levels 1 and 2 are a prerequisite. Truth Fairies create a safe space and make a connection even in the hardest times: identifying people's strengths and resilience, creating new endings to old stories, setting boundaries, and focusing on taking one step forward. Graduates receive a certificate and a personal flag. Clinic ### [The Truth Clinic](https://thehealingcorps.com/our-workshop-2/our-clinic-2/) Where the training is used. Fifteen minutes with a health professional to talk about anything on your mind, with no scheduling, no paperwork, no diagnoses and no prescriptions, brought directly to communities with little or no access to care. ## Accountability **Fiscal sponsor**: Technical Assistance Partnership of Arizona (TAPAZ), founded 2001 **Charitable status**: 501c(3) held through TAPAZ, an affiliate of the Vitalyst Health Foundation **Accreditation**: Max 5.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit and 5.75 CNE contact hours per workshop **Workshop capacity**: 20 participants per session **Mailing address**: 3104 East Camelback Road #614, Phoenix, AZ 85016 **Donation address**: TAPAZ / The Healing Corps, 2929 N Central Ave, Suite 1550, Phoenix, AZ 85012 **Telephone**: 480.382.0605 **Email**: info@thehealingcorps.com ## Updates and field stories 10 records ### [Clownvets](https://thehealingcorps.com/blog/clownvets/) Clownvets – A film by Esteban Rojas produced by Patch Adams. Every day in the US, over 20 Veterans commit suicide due to Post Traumatic Stress. This movie was just released on YouTube.… ### [What is Clown Therapy?](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/what-is-clown-therapy/) The Clown/Fool/Jester is a recognizable figure in every culture in recorded history. The clown is an archetype, a human characteristic that’s biologically embedded in the mind, universally… ### [Using clown therapy to deliver mental health care](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/using-clown-therapy-to-deliver-mental-health-care/) From Clinical Psychiatry News, October 2014 The clown/fool/jester is a recognizable figure in every culture. The clown is an archetype, a universal image that’s embedded in the brain. These images dwell in the unconscious mind. They… ### [Clown therapy in Peru: Maria returns](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/clown-therapy-in-peru-maria-returns/) For the last 7 years, I have been traveling with Dr. Patch Adams, the world’s most recognized humanitarian clown, and 100 other clowns from around the world, to participate in the Belén… ### [Clown therapy helps people find answers within](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/clown-therapy-helps-people-find-answers-within/) The inaugural Clown Town Healing Fest, a visionary health care festival, proved to be a practical demonstration of the future of health care. One of its many innovative aspects is the… ### [Clown therapy is community psychiatry in disguise](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/clown-therapy-is-community-psychiatry-in-disguise-2/) Ever had a patient who not only got better but used the insights she gained from talking with you to help others in distress? I have just such a patient in the Peruvian Amazon. ### [Clown therapy is community psychiatry in disguise](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/clown-therapy-is-community-psychiatry-in-disguise/) Frontline Medical News, October 14, 2016, by Carl A. Hammerschlag, MD To provide a brief overview … we go to a neighborhood, set up our space, and walk the streets with a bull horn. We announce our presence – “we are mental health professionals, and we’re… ### [The Art of Self-Disclosure](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/the-art-of-self-disclosure/) Portrait of a Psychiatrist — Series Editor, H. Steven Moffic, MD The question of whether to self-disclose in my work as a community psychiatrist is a non-issue—it must be done. No matter how well-intentioned and well-trained you are, the community wants… ### [Hammerschlag teaches Emergency Medicine how to heal](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/hammerschlag-teaches-emergency-medicine-how-to-heal/) The word for health in the Navajo language is “hozho.” Hozho is also the word for truth, beauty, harmony, balance, and the great spirit. ### [Humor is Life](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/humor-is-life/) In addition to being a psychiatrist, I’m also a humanitarian clown. For the last 30 years, I have traveled the world with my friend and holy brother, Patch Adams MD, perhaps the world’s… [The complete archive →](https://thehealingcorps.com/media/) ## Reports and references Clinical Psychiatry News, October 2014 ### [Using clown therapy to deliver mental health care](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/using-clown-therapy-to-deliver-mental-health-care/) The clown, fool and jester is a recognizable figure in every culture. The clown is an archetype, a universal image that is embedded in the brain. The Healing Corps ### [What is Clown Therapy?](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/what-is-clown-therapy/) The clown is an archetype, a human characteristic that is biologically embedded in the mind, universally present in the human psyche. Clinical Psychiatry News, November 2013 ### Global outreach project is not your ordinary mental health clinic We are in the midst of enormous changes in health care delivery, ushering in a cultural shift from a prohibitively expensive interventional health care model to one based on prevention. Field report from the Belén Festival, Iquitos, Peru ### [Clown therapy in Peru: Maria returns](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/clown-therapy-in-peru-maria-returns/) A community health project that educates people, promotes wellness, and brings joy, hope and healing to this impoverished community in Iquitos, Peru. Frontline Medical News, October 14, 2016 ### [Clown therapy is community psychiatry in disguise](https://thehealingcorps.com/articles/clown-therapy-is-community-psychiatry-in-disguise/) By Carl A. Hammerschlag, MD. Ever had a patient who not only got better, but used the insights she gained from talking with you to help others in distress? [All references →](https://thehealingcorps.com/references/) ## People and contact Phoenix, Arizona ### Dr. Carl Hammerschlag Co-founder An internationally recognized psychiatrist, author and humanitarian clown who worked for many years in Native American communities. He devised The Healing Corps curriculum. ### Hayley Sklar Shapiro Co-founder and Executive Director A community organizer, performance artist, humanitarian clown and LGBTQ+ activist who operationalized the curriculum and directs the organization. ### Contact Email[info@thehealingcorps.com](mailto:info@thehealingcorps.com) Telephone[480.382.0605](tel:+14803820605) Mailing address3104 East Camelback Road #614, Phoenix, AZ 85016 [Get involved →](https://thehealingcorps.com/get-involved/)