Laugh Therapy™ Veteran Suicide Prevention Program Where Laughter Meets Healing
The Problem We Are Solving
More than 60 percent of veterans who die by suicide were not in VA care in the two years before their death.
They were not refusing help. They were never reached by anything that felt worth reaching for.
Laugh Therapy™ was built for them.
We meet veterans where they are. In comedy clubs. In community spaces. Online. With fellow veterans on stage, in the room, and in their corner. We use the one language that has always crossed every barrier in military culture: the willingness to laugh at the impossible and find each other inside the joke.
That is not entertainment. That is the beginning of healing.
What Is Laugh Therapy™
Laugh Therapy™ is a structured veteran suicide prevention program that pairs veteran comedian facilitators with licensed mental health clinicians in every session.
The comedian holds the room. The clinician holds the safety net. The veteran gets to be exactly who they are without performing strength they do not feel.
Every session follows the L.A.U.G.H.T.E.R. Framework™, a proprietary eight-stage therapeutic methodology developed by Kiana S. Dancie that moves veterans from isolation to community, from silence to purpose, and from surviving to living.
The L.A.U.G.H.T.E.R. Framework™
L - Lean Into Levity Humor is not avoidance. It is armor that can also heal.
A - Acknowledge Without Armor Naming the wound is not weakness. It is the most tactical thing a soldier can do.
U - Unite in the Mission You left the unit. You do not have to leave belonging.
G - Ground in Your Greater Why The mission did not end at discharge. It evolved.
H - Hold the Line on Hope Hope is not a feeling. It is a tactical decision to stay in the fight.
T - Take the Stage Your story is not a wound to hide. It is a weapon to wield.
E - Elevate Others The highest form of healing is becoming someone else's reason to hold on.
R — Rise in Resilience This is not the end of the program. This is the beginning of the mission.
How the Program Works
The Laugh Therapy™ Structured Cohort
Eight weeks. Thirty veterans. Ninety minutes per session. One veteran comedian on stage. One licensed clinician in the room.
Sessions follow the L.A.U.G.H.T.E.R. Framework™ curriculum from start to finish, moving through humor, honesty, connection, and purpose in a progressive arc designed by someone who has been inside the experience of needing exactly this and not being able to find it.
Every participant is screened privately before their first session. Every session includes a trained clinical professional present and available. Every veteran who completes the program graduates with a Steady Six™.
Laugh Therapy Live™ National Tour
A live comedy show hosted by Kiana Dancie featuring veteran comedian facilitators performing on stage. Between performances, a licensed clinician joins Kiana to talk directly to the audience about warning signs, how to start the conversation, and how to become a Steady Six™ for the veteran in your life.
After the show there is a sign-up table. Veterans can enroll in the next local cohort. Family members and friends can register to be trained as a Steady Six™.
Virtual Cohort
The same eight-week program delivered online through a secure platform. Designed for veterans in markets where in-person delivery is not yet available and for veterans who are not yet ready to walk into a room.
The Steady Six™
The most powerful suicide prevention tool in the world is not a hotline. It is a human being who already knows your name and will answer the phone.
Every veteran who completes Laugh Therapy™ must identify a Steady Six™ before graduating. A Steady Six™ is a personally chosen, program-trained accountability partner who knows the warning signs, holds the space, and makes sure no veteran ever has to fight their darkest moment alone.
Your Steady Six™ can be a fellow veteran, a family member, a friend, a coworker, or a neighbor. They do not need a clinical background. They need to care about you and be willing to show up.
We train them. You choose them. Together you hold the line.
Clinical Foundation
Laugh Therapy™ is not a feel-good program with clinical aspirations. It is a clinically grounded, peer-led, culturally intelligent intervention built on peer-reviewed research and delivered with licensed clinical oversight in every session.
The program is designed under the clinical guidance of Dr. Owen Scott Muir, MD, a dual board-certified psychiatrist, NIH-funded researcher, and co-author of Adolescent Suicide and Self-Injury: Mentalizing Theory and Treatment. Dr. Muir serves as Board Director of Clinical Affairs for B.A.G.S. and Chief Medical Officer of Breakthrough6, the program's designated clinical referral partner.
Veterans who need clinical services beyond the program are connected to Breakthrough6 care at no cost through VA COMPACT Act payment authority regardless of VA enrollment status.
Who We Serve
Laugh Therapy™ serves veterans, service members, and military family members who are navigating one or more of the following.
- Social isolation and disconnection from community since leaving the military
- Difficulty asking for help or accessing traditional mental health services
- A history of suicidal thoughts or a past attempt
- PTSD, depression, grief, or the weight of things they have never been able to say out loud
- A feeling that the person they were before service has not fully come home yet
You do not need to be in crisis to participate. You do not need a VA referral. You do not need to have a diagnosis. You just need to be a veteran who is ready to be in a room with other veterans.
Current Program Markets
Laugh Therapy™ Structured Cohort is launching in the following cities in Year One.
Atlanta, GA | Houston, TX | Jacksonville, FL | San Diego, CA | Chicago, IL | Cleveland, OH | Birmingham, AL | Seattle, WA
Virtual delivery available nationwide.
Join the Mission
Are you a veteran? Join the waitlist for the next Laugh Therapy™ cohort in your city or online.
Do you know a veteran who needs support? Become a Steady Six™ We will train you. All you have to do is show up.
Are you a licensed clinician, comedian, or community partner? We are building in eight cities and growing. If you want to be part of this work reach out directly.
Laugh Therapy™ is a program of B.A.G.S. - Becoming A Guiltless Survivor, Inc., a Georgia 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. EIN 88-4176457.
Laugh Therapy™ is not a clinical treatment service. If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis please call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.