The Use of Humor in Psychotherapy: Views of Practicing Psychotherapists

ABSTRACT

Clinicians hold diverse views about the appropriateness and effectiveness of introducing humor into the process of psychotherapy. The goal of this qualitative phenomenological study was to expand research on the applicability of humor in therapeutic practice via interviews with ten practicing psychotherapists. All participants expressed the belief that humor can have benefits for psychotherapy, but also noted that humor should be introduced cautiously because of the risks involved. Participants’ report of potential advantages and risks are explored, as are contraindications associated with factors such as clients’ gender, culture, mood, or personality traits.

KEYWORDS:

• Humor
• psychotherapy
• qualitative research
• interventions
• creativity in counseling

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Jay Efran and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

This paper is based on the first author’s doctoral dissertation.

Declaration of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.