Patients’ Reactions to Humorous Interventions in Psychotherapy

Abstract

This study explores the preference of patients for humorous or nonhumorous therapist interventions. Hysterical, obsessive, and depressive patients were presented with three functional kinds of humorous interventions: emotional confrontation, anxiety reduction and perspective development. The data indicate that the patients consistently favored the nonhumorous interventions, but the degree of this preference varied according to personality style. Obsessive patients stood out in their ardent repudiation of humorous interventions. The results suggest that the desirability of utilizing humor in therapy depends on a multiplicity of parameters.

Update: Laughter: The Best Medicine?

“…Humor may help to relax the patient, acting as a "leveling agent" among the patient, family, and oncologist, as it can often relieve the tension caused by intimate questions or exams [38]. When a positive attitude is shared by the patient and doctor, it can also have a positive effect on emotional-affective and cognitive functioning and help with the introduction of new treatment options and when curative challenges are encountered [40,41]. Humor does not fix cancer, and if you're not paid to be funny, don't trust that you are good at it.…”

“…This confidence or trust between the joke teller and the receiver is an important aspect of humor, as people are prompted to laugh when they identify with the teller, and as trust is important between doctor and patient, establishing this trust is a prerequisite to introducing appropriate and respectfully timed humor (R. Buckman, personal communication). However, if one side is defensive or angry, they may find humor use by the other party offensive or insulting [40,41]. Patients may also become upset about jokes being made at their expense, fearing humiliation and stigma [45].…”

Integrating humor into psychotherapy: Research, theory, and the necessary conditions for the presence of therapeutic humor in helping relationships.

“…The experience of humor also serves as a vehicle to discharge and relieve pentup emotional conflict (Rosenheim & Golan, 1986). Humor has also been shown to reduce anxiety and negative mood (Strick, Holland, Van Baaren, & Van Knippenberg, 2009).…”

Therapeutic functions of humour in group art therapy with war veterans

“…Also, humour's significant role in psychotherapy has been emphasised (Jakab, 1998a, b;Kuhlman, 1984;Nagy, 1998;Pierce, 1994;Rosenheim & Golan, 1986;Rosenheim, Tecucianu, & Dimitrovsky, 1989). War veterans comprise one of the clinical populations in which humour can play an especially significant role taking into account their clinical and psychological characteristics.…”

“…However, findings concerning effects of the active use of humour in a therapist's interaction with a client (Killinger, 1987;Kubie, 1970;Rosenheim & Golan, 1986;Rosenheim et al, 1989) and the role of humour initiated by therapeutic groups (Peterson & Pollio, 1982) are ambiguous. That is why Martin (2009) came to the conclusion that 'only few empirical studies have been done to research the efficacy of humorous interventions and forms of humor, which can be adequate or inadequate in psychotherapy.…”