THE LAUGHTER CLINIC

Testimonials for The Laughter Clinic Keynote Presentation

"Thank you so much for delivering such a very professional seminar/presentation in such a sensitive manner. You made 'clever comedy' into compassionate humour for the soul :)  It was an amazing experience to sit in another role and to appreciate the integration of your newly acquired academic knowledge in suicide prevention with your 'other passion' for comedy and laughter. Entertainment has just been taken to another level in the field of suicidology."
Mrs Jacinta Hawgood
Senior Lecturer
Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention
Griffith University

Mark McConville
“Running a national health and community focused conference we engaged Mark to present our closing plenary session, and he certainly delivered on our brief. He was a laugh a minute and successfully balanced comedy, audience engagement and facts to highlight the positive impacts humour can have on mental health. Mark brought a wealth of professionalism, knowledge, personal stories and supporting research to the session and his preparation ensured he spoke to the needs of our audience, while showcasing our conference theme. We would highly recommend Mark and his ‘Laughter Clinic’ to anyone wanting to raise awareness of mental health and Suicidology, gain practical tips and strategies to increase laughter in their lives and in the lives of family, friends and colleagues, all while having some fun along the way.”
Lindsay Whittaker
Event Manager & Marketing Coordinator
Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (AGPAL)

Mark McConville
The Laughter Clinic keynote presentation combines comedy and laughter with the latest information and research in the field of Suicidology to produce a fun, yet very powerful experience that helps participants find ways to increase their daily exposure to humour and laughter.

"The more I learn about the complexities of suicide, and the multifaceted problems associated with suicide prevention, the more I believe in our innovative approach to a problem that has unfortunately reached epidemic proportions."  

Globally, the suicide rate in 2012 was estimated at 804,000 people per year, even more staggering, is that for every one of these people who tragically end their own life, there are approximately 20-25 people who make a non-fatal attempt. That being the case, an estimated 16 million people a year globally attempt suicide. In Australia, where I live, data presented by the Australian Bureau of Statistics stated that in 2016 there were 2,864 deaths by suicide, which would put our attempted suicide rate at well over 60,000 people per year if these current estimates are correct.

There are 3 main components to The Laughter Clinic

The Keynote Presentation

In this very interactive presentation Mark highlights the importance of using humour and laughter to maintain good mental health. The presentation includes useful information regarding suicide prevention strategies combined with interactive exercises such as the ‘future thinking task’ and the ‘what makes me happy exercise’. Throughout the keynote presentation Mark uses his 20 years of experience as a professional comedian to ensure that the audience also receives a healthy dose of humour and laughter.

The Workshop


The Laughter Clinic Workshop provides participants with an overview of Mark’s unique ‘Humour and Laughter ’Education (HALE) Program, which was the focus of Mark’s dissertation for the degree of Master of Suicidology at Griffith University.

The 5 week program is the first of its kind and has been designed in a way that encourages the individual to ‘ask themselves’ what they find funny, and in doing so, participants are encouraged to increase their use of Affiliative and Self-Enhancing styles of humour as each of these adaptive styles of humour have been proven to have significant associations with improved psychological well-being. The (HALE) program combines methodologies from both humour therapy and laughter therapy into the one educational model, the uniqueness of the program is that it is focused on the individual and their personal style or sense of humour. The workshop provides participants with the tools and strategies to help them increase their daily exposure to humour and laughter for improved psychological well-being.

As with the keynote presentation, Mark uses his 20 years of experience as a professional comedian to ensure that the audience also receives a healthy dose of humour and laughter throughout the workshop.

Humour & Laughter Education HALE Program

A program consiting of 5 one-hour, one on one consultations with Mark McConville to help facilitate increased exposure to humour and laughter, for personal & professional benefits of private clients.

Additional Research

We conduct research into the effects of humour and laughter in regards to minimising the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression, this is undertaken with the aim of quantifying the protective value of humour and laughter against suicidality.


Why The Laughter Clinic is a good mental health strategy for business.

In 2013, Price Waterhouse Coopers (Pwc) released their ‘Creating a Mentally Healthy Workplace, Return on Investment Analysis’ report. 
Some of the key findings of the Pwc report are as follows: 
Mental Illness costs Australian workplaces approximately 10.9 billion dollars per year in lost productivity. 

Pwc estimated that implementing an effective mental health action can result in a positive return on investment (ROI) of 2.3. That is, for every one dollar spent, organisations can expect on average, a return on investment of $2.30 in benefits.

The following outlines how The Laughter Clinic presentation and workshops address 6 of the 7 key mental health action recommendations. 

Worksite physical activity programs
Laughter has Physiological Benefits, Exercises and Relaxes Muscles, Improves Respiration, Stimulates Circulation

Coaching and mentoring programs
Participants are coached on ways to both appreciate and generate humour and laughter in their personal and professional lives. 

Mental health first aid and education
The Laughter Clinic contains valuable information and exercises centred around mental wellness and suicide prevention, while also educating on the health benefits of laughter.

Resilience training 
Laughter also facilitates the following Psychological Benefits, Decreases Stress Hormones Increase in Immune System Defences, Enhances Mental Functioning, Reduces Stress, Counteracts symptoms of Depression, Elevates Mood, Self-Esteem, Hope and Energy.
While also enhancing Creative Thinking, and Problem Solving Skills.

Well-being checks or health screenings 
The Laughter Clinic includes the ‘What makes you Happy?’ and ‘Future Thinking’ exercises. Both of which are mental wellness strategies that help screen for
symptoms of depression and hopelessness.

Encouraging employee involvement
Improves Interpersonal Interaction in Relationships, Increases Friendliness, Helpfulness, and builds Group Identity, Solidarity and Cohesiveness

In summary, The Laughter Clinic presentation offers lots of laughs while also giving participants valuable take away information and tools for personal and professional use.

Expanding on the keynote presentation, the “Laughter Clinic Workshops” are a series of 4 x 45 min sessions spread over 4 weeks that engage the participants in weekly stress reducing, relationship building and laughter creating exercises.

Part of the Comedy Unlimited range of products.