The impact of humor therapy on people suffering from depression or anxiety: An integrative literature review

Abstract

ObjectivesTo identify and synthesize existing research on the effectiveness and feasibility of multiform humor therapy on people suffering from depression or anxiety, with the hope of benefiting future research.MethodsAn integrative literature review of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed studies was performed. The PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, and CINAHL databases were searched up to March 2022. Two independent reviewers conducted each stage of the review process, by assessing eligibility using preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta‐analyses (PRISMA) and quality appraisal using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool, and data extraction.ResultsIn this integrative review, 29 papers were included, containing 2964 participants across a diverse range of studies, including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. The articles were from the United States, Australia, Italy, Turkey, South Korea, Iran, Israel, China, and Germany. The findings indicated that most of the subjects thought humor therapy was effective in improving depression and anxiety while a few participants considered the effect insignificant. However, more high‐quality studies will be needed to confirm these conclusions.DiscussionThis review collated and summarized findings from studies examining the impact of humor therapy (medical clowns, laughter therapy/yoga) on people with depression or anxiety, including children undergoing surgery or anesthesia, older people in nursing homes, patients with Parkinson's disease, cancer, mental illness, and undergoing dialysis, retired women, and college students. The results from this review may help inform future research, policy, and practice in humor therapy to improve people's symptoms of depression and anxiety.ImpactThis systematic review objectively evaluated the effect of humor therapy on depression and anxiety. As a simple and feasible complementary alternative therapy, humor therapy may provide a favorable alternative for clinicians, nurses, and patients in the future.

Psychological aspects of rehabilitation nutrition: A position paper by the Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Nutrition (secondary publication)

“… 98 Laughter (laughter therapy, laughter yoga) and humor interventions have been useful in improving depression, anxiety, and sleep quality. 99 , 100 Aromatherapy for cancer patients was useful in improving anxiety, but its effects on depression are controversial. 101 , 102 Lavender was useful for depression and anxiety.…”

Humor in professional coaching: a literature review and research agenda

“…Recent review studies on humor in the mental health area, focusing on both adults and children ( Haire and MacDonald, 2019 ; Gonot-Schoupinsky et al, 2020 ; Sun et al, 2023 ) or exclusively adults ( Brooks et al, 2021 ; Sarink and García-Montes, 2023 ), examine diverse forms of humor interventions. These interventions range from clowns and yoga/laughter therapy to comedy training and laughing incentives.…”

“…Recent published reviews on humor have primarily focused on its effect on psychotherapy ( Gelkopf, 2011 ; Brooks et al, 2021 ; Sarink and García-Montes, 2023 ), however also personal development ( Gonot-Schoupinsky et al, 2020 ) and mental health ( Schneider et al, 2018 ; Zhao et al, 2019 ). Two review studies explored humor only in a pediatric context and were excluded from our analysis ( Haire and MacDonald, 2019 ; Sun et al, 2023 ). Table 3 provides an overview of these studies.…”