Reactions of Psychiatric Patients to Cartoons and Verbal Jokes

The Use of Humor in Counseling: The Laughing Cure

“…Humor has long been recognized as a diagnostic aid in counseling in myriad clinical situations including measuring the level of a client's depression (Nussbaum & Michaux, 1963), predicting patient adjustment after hospital discharge (Starer, 1961), assessing schizophrenic group therapy client change over time (Harrelson & Stroud, 1967), and assessing schizophrenic patient difficulties in socialization (Senf, Huston, & Cohen, 1956). Humor has also been used for both assessment and intervention purposes in treating culturally diverse groups of psychiatric patients (Campinha-Bacote, 1997).…”

Promoting Student Adjustment to College: A Counseling Technique Utilizing Humor

“…The tension often prohibits the person from being able to relax and attend to things other than him or herself. High levels of anxiety (Levine & Redlich, 1955), depressed mood states (Nussbaum & Michaux, 1955), and personal conflicts (Starer, 1961) are conditions that appear with a constriction in the sense of humor.…”

The use of humour in psychotherapy

“…Furthermore, Starer (1961) suggested the examination of humour responses to gauge a patient's adjustment success or failure following release from hospitalization. Harrelson and Stroud (1967) found humour to be a good indicator of patient change.…”