Humor and Psychological Healing

It has been said that humor can be psychologically healing. How can therapists use humor while counseling there clients? Cite references.

A great deal of research has been conducted on the positive effects that humor has on the psychological well beings of humans. It is obvious that humor has the short term effect of making us feel joyous in the moment. However, it has been shown that humor used in conjunction with psychotherapy can either help or hinder the therapeutic process.

Golan and Rosenheim (1986) summarize the positive psychological effects of humor from literature they have reviewed. They say that humor helps us by
enabling emotional catharsis, alleviating anxiety and tension, overcoming excessive earnestness, creating an atmosphere of closeness and equality, developing a sense of realistic proportions, exposing the absurdity of stereotypes, increasing flexibility, and confronting hidden internal processes.
With these grand and varied effects that humor has on the human emotional condition, it seems be the perfect adjunct to psychotherapy. Many of psychotherapy’s pioneers have similar perceptions on the use of humor in psychological healing.

Freud, who many consider to be the founding father of psychotherapy, said that humor is “a means to gain pleasure despite the painful affects which disturb it; it acts as a substitute for this affective development, and takes it’s place.” Adler would tell his patients that there are always comedic situations which are comparable to their individual neuroses, helping them to take their issues more lightly. Maslow believed that a sense of humor in an individual is a sign of them being self-actualized. May saw humor as a way to distance one’s self from their issue, and thus giving an individual a different perspective on it. (Bordan & Goldin, 1999) Both May and Frankl believed that using humor with clients increased their self-awareness, allowing them to decrease their anxiety and accept themselves and others more. Lastly, “According to May, people cannot laugh when anxious or panic-stricken.” (Dupey, et al, 2001)
Theoretically, humor is the perfect companion for psychological healing, and thus many research studies have been conducted to see if this theory has validity. Szabo (2003) did a study on the effects of both humor and exercise on lowering anxiety. 39 healthy university students, ages 20-23, exercised for 20 minutes and were exposed to 20 minutes of a humorous stand-up video. To measure the effects, they were then given both the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory and the Subjective Exercise Experience Scale. He found that both humor and exercise lowered anxiety, however humor has a greater effect of lowering anxiety.

Kelly (2002) gave 140 undergraduates the Worry Domains Questionnaire and the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale. He found that “worry has a significant negative relationship to sense of humor. Thus, it seems that individuals with a sense of humor are less likely to worry.” He also notes that these results are similar to those of earlier studies, which showed that having low scores on a sense of humor scale is connected to “negative psychological outcomes,” such as coping poorly with stressful life events.
In Deutsch’s study (2002), participants were presented with the choice of watching comedy scenes or nature scenes. He found that non-depressed patients chose comedy scenes more than the depressed patients. Also, he discovered that non-depressed participants laughed more often. Deutsch says that these “results support existing literature supporting humor and laughter’s reinforcing properties and have important implications for the efficacy of humor-based treatments for anxiety, depression or pain management disorders.”

Carroll, et al (1998) did a study on 61 residents from 6 residential homes, ages 63-97. The experimental group received a structured intervention of a comedical old-time sing-a-long. These participants had lower anxiety and depression than the residents who only received standard residential care. This study “shows that a comparatively small amount of intervention (one hour per week) can have a beneficial impact on the psychological well being of older people in residential care.” The results of studies conducted by Szabo, Kelly, Deutsch and Carroll, et al all suggest that humorous interventions can effectively lower anxiety and reduce depression.

Conversely, other authors call attention to some of the negative issues that occur when using humor in a psychotherapeutic setting. Kubie (1971) wrote a paper called, “The Destructive Potential of Humor in Psychotherapy.” He says “humor might stem from aggressive, abusive discharge towards the patient, which could embarrass him and clock the natural flow of his associations.” (Golan & Rosenheim, 1986) He also talks about a specific type of humor called “gallows,” which occurs when a counselor or a client makes jokes about a client’s behaviors that are destructive. These jokes, he says, “in essence, send messages to avoid taking the client seriously,” and thus have a negative potential for the client’s therapeutic process (Bordan & Goldin, 1999).

Gladding also talks about when it is improper to use humor in a counseling context. He says that is it inappropriate, “a) when the counselor uses it to avoid dealing with client anxieties, b) when a client views it as irrelevant to his or her reasons for being in counseling, c) when it is experienced as a put-down, d) when it is used too frequently and becomes boring, and e) when it is inappropriately timed.” (Bordan & Goldin, 1999) Both Kubie and Gladding suggest that there is a fine line between using humor to heal and humor becoming harmful to the client’s process. With this perspective, it is important to conduct research on both the positive and negative effects that humor may have on clients.

A study was done by Golan and Rosenheim (1986) where they found that some patients greatly dislike humor in counseling. Golan and Rosenheim tested the reactions to humorous interventions in counseling sessions on hysterical, obsessive and depressive personality types. 36 participants, all adult females, listened to 12 recorded therapy session- 9 of which were humorous, and 3 of which were not humorous. The results were that patients favored the interventions that were nonhumorous. However, the degree of preference was different based on the personality style of the participant. “Obsessive patients stood out in their ardent repudiation of humorous interventions. The results suggest that the desirability of utilizing humor is therapy depends on a multiplicity of parameters.”

All of the aforementioned researchers seem to agree that if a therapist does use humor in their therapy sessions, they must use it with care. Golan and Rosenheim (1986) say that “when applying humor the therapist has to gauge the patient’s long-term needs and not just his immediate response which might well stem from resistance.” Gauging a client’s long-term needs would include assessing their psychological disorder, personality, comfort level with humor, and culture of origin.
In an article that discusses the importance of attuning to the ways other cultures practice humor, Dupey, et al, say,
“[Humor in counseling can reflect] the type of emotional release that leads to significant therapeutic gains. It can also be [disturbing if used inappropriately]. Counselors need to exert particular caution before attempting to apply humor in working with a client from a culture different from the counselor.” (Dupey, et al, 2001)
This article explores the different styles of humor predominant in Native American, Latino, African American and Asian cultures. This is yet another example of how important it is to be mindful of the use of humor in therapy, if it is to be used at all.

In conclusion, Lazarus (2006) eloquently summarizes the research I explored for this literature review. He says,
“[Humor] can be used to reframe various troublesome events so that a positive spin is gained and the proverbial silver lining comes into view. Humor can enhance rapport. It can enable people to take their problems less seriously….. Nevertheless, the use of humor requires the therapist to ascertain that the client will not see its use as disrespectful, trivializing or in bad taste.
With that being said, although humor can lighten a client’s view towards his own heavy issues, the issue of using humor in psychotherapy should not be taken lightly. If a therapist decides to use it, they should have an understanding of the client’s psychological disorder, personality, comfort level with humor, and culture of origin. Humor is a powerful tool, and if used mindfully, can be a wonderful companion to traditional psychotherapeutic healing.


References
Araoz, D.L., Bordan, T., Gladding, S.T., Goldin, E., Kaplan, D., Krumboltz,
J., & Lazarus, A. (2006). Humor in counseling: leader perspectives,
Journal of Counseling & Development, 84, 397-404.
Bordan, T. & Goldin, E. (1999). The use of humor in counseling: the laughing cure,
Journal of Counseling & Development, 77 (4), 405-410.
Carroll, L., Houston Diane M., Marsh, H. & Mckee, K.J. (1998). Using
Humor to promote psychological wellbeing in residential homes for
older people, Aging and Mental Health, 2 (4), 328-332.
Deutsch, D. (2002). Humor as a reinforcer with depressed and
nondepressed subjects, Dissertation Abstracts International: Section
B: The Sciences and Engineering, 63 (1-B), 510.
Dupey, M.F., Garrett, M.T., Linwood, V., Maples, M.F., Phan, L.T., Torres-
Rivera. (2001). Ethnic diversity and the use of humor in
Counseling: appropriate or inappropriate?, Journal of Counseling &
Development, 79 (1), 53-60.
Golan, G. & Rosenheim, E. (1986). Patients’ reactions to humorous
Interventions in psychotherapy, American Journal of Psychology, XL
(1), 110-124.
Kelly, W. (2002). An investigation of worry and sense of humor, Journal of
Psychology, Interdisciplinary and Applied, 136 (6), 657-666.
Kubie, L. (1971). The destructive potential of humor in psychotherapy, Am J Psychiatry,
127, 861-866.
Szabo, A. (2003). The acute effects of humor and exercise on mood and
anxiety, Journal of Leisure Research, 35 (2), 153-162.