A few years ago I wrote about how improv can help our creativity at work. Research from the University of Michigan suggests it could also help with emotional disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

The researchers tested whether improv training could help people to better deal with uncertainty and reduce the social anxiety they feel towards it. They highlight that previous studies have shown that cognitive behavior therapy can be effective in reducing our intolerance of uncertainty. This can be an expensive option that renders it out of reach of many, however.

Cost-effective intervention

The researchers tested whether improv training could help participants to become more comfortable with uncertainty.

“Improv experiences require facing the unknown, with each successive moment allowing infinite possibilities,” the researchers explain.

The project builds upon previous research from the team that looked at how improv can reduce social anxiety. The latest research specifically examines the way improve can build tolerance for uncertainty and involved 350 8th-12th graders from low-income neighborhoods in Detroit.

The participants were provided with a 10-week course of improve classes, and were surveyed both at the start and the end of the training to gauge their intolerance of uncertainty and feelings of social anxiety. The results show that the improv training was able to improve their tolerance of uncertainty, which then reduced any social anxiety they felt.

“Becoming more comfortable with uncertainty may have other important psychological benefits, extending the value of improv training,” the researchers explain. “More than simply adding fun, improv training may indirectly improve psychological flexibility.”