Addiction Counselors Can Benefit From Appropriate Humor in the Work Setting

Weaver, Sharon T.; Wilson, Cyndy

doi:10.1002/j.2161-1920.1997.tb00987.x

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Some theorists argue that joking is an informal behavioral system that should be allowed in the workplace as a way of managing anxiety in a socially acceptable and physically harmless way, as long as staff can handle their professiona l obligations (Weaver & Wilson, 1997), and that in-group joking is a sign of group solidarity and high morale (Morreall, 1991;Robinson, 1988). Others emphasize the therapeutic importance of milieu humor as a way of helping staff to collectively manage stressful conditions and suggest that humor is generally used in a sensitive manner within the professional group only (Kuhlman, 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Aberrant Medical Humor by Psychiatric Unit Staff

Sayre¹

2001

Issues in Mental Health Nursing

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The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory about the joking behaviors of psychiatric unit staff. Fifty nine staff members (Male D 23, Female D 36), ages 28 -62, who worked in an urban, public facility were observed in unit meetings over a two year period. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Participants used aberrant humor to deal with the basic social process of facing a series of ultimately unresolvable problems. The factors involved included the organizational context of the working environment, contact with a stigmatized patient group, and stressful staff-patient interactions which led to the erosion of a sense of professional competence and the resulting demoralization, resentment, and vengeful counteraction. Two major categories of joking emerged: whimsical and sarcastic humor. Six subcategories of humor also emerged: incongruous, bravado, self-mocking, discounting, malicious and gallows humor. Staff engaged in more sarcastic than whimsical humor. Findings support the need for professionals to recognize the potentially detrimental effects of joking behaviors on their treatment effectiveness.Setting: Morning staff conference on a psychiatric unit First psychiatrist: This new admission is manic-depressive; he tried to kill himself by breaking a thermometer and swallowing the mercury.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Aberrant Medical Humor by Psychiatric Unit Staff

Sayre¹

2001

Issues in Mental Health Nursing

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“…Some theorists argue that joking is an informal behavioral system that should be allowed in the workplace as a way of managing anxiety in a socially acceptable and physically harmless way, as long as staff can handle their professiona l obligation s (Weaver & Wilson, 1997), and that in-group joking is a sign of group solidarity and high morale (Morreall, 1991;Robinson, 1988). Others emphasize the therapeutic importance of milieu humor as a way of helping staff to collectively manage stressful conditions and suggest that humor is generally used in a sensitive manner within the professional group only (Kuhlman, 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Use of Aberrant Medical Humor by Psychiatric Unit Staff

Sayre

2001

Issues in Mental Health Nursing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory about the joking behaviors of psychiatric unit staff. Fifty nine staff members (Male = 23, Female = 36), ages 28-62, who worked in an urban, public facility were observed in unit meetings over a two year period. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Participants used aberrant humor to deal with the basic social process of facing a series of ultimately unresolvable problems. The factors involved included the organizational context of the working environment, contact with a stigmatized patient group, and stressful staff-patient interactions which led to the erosion of a sense of professional competence and the resulting demoralization, resentment, and vengeful counteraction. Two major categories of joking emerged: whimsical and sarcastic humor. Six subcategories of humor also emerged: incongruous, bravado, self-mocking, discounting, malicious and gallows humor. Staff engaged in more sarcastic than whimsical humor. Findings support the need for professionals to recognize the potentially detrimental effects of joking behaviors on their treatment effectiveness.

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“…At the time of writing, the only published research regarding this was from Franzini (2001) who stated that trainees are often discouraged from bringing humour into the counselling relationship, and that it can be seen as a taboo, when actually it can be a very useful tool for a counsellor to draw on, as has been discovered in the present investigation. Furthermore, Weaver and Wilson (1997) offer their perspective that humour in counselling can not only be of benefit to the clients but also the practitioner themselves, again adding weight to the rationale for investigating this phenomenon.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Funny, right? How do trainee and qualified therapists experience laughter in their practice with clients?

Briggs

Owen

2022

Couns and Psychother Res

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Gupta et al. (2018, p. 464) define laughter as "any highly stereotyped utterance characterised by multiple forced, acoustically symmetric, similar vowel-like notes separated by a breathy expiration in a decrescendo pattern." Extensive empirical research has been conducted over recent decades to investigate both the physiological and psychological benefits of laughter, and this has been reviewed by numerous authors, including Mora-Ripoll (2010) and Savage et al. (2017).The consensus from these reviews is that laughter can be highly beneficial to both physical and mental functioning. Tremayne and Sharma's (2019) review of the literature further highlighted the beneficial impact of laughter in supporting medical patients in various settings, as well as supporting the nurses who work with them.It may not be too big a leap to therefore suggest that laughter may not only be beneficial to counselling clients, but also their therapists.Humour in therapy was originally examined from a psychodynamic perspective, primarily by Freud himself. He emphasised the unconscious drives behind humour, suggesting that it can be an unconscious attempt to present different meanings, or a repression of internal conflicts where humour then becomes a defence mechanism (Freud 1905, cited in Strachey, 1983). In the same work, "Jokes and their relation to the unconscious", Freud (1905, cited in Strachey, 1983) also suggested that a client making jokes in therapy is trying

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Addiction Counselors Can Benefit From Appropriate Humor in the Work Setting

Cited by 5 publications

References 6 publications

The Use of Aberrant Medical Humor by Psychiatric Unit Staff

The Use of Aberrant Medical Humor by Psychiatric Unit Staff

The Use of Aberrant Medical Humor by Psychiatric Unit Staff

Funny, right? How do trainee and qualified therapists experience laughter in their practice with clients?

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