Humor in psychotherapy

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the theory on the application of therapeutic humor in psychotherapy. The three main aspects of applying humor in psychother­apy are also presented, based on two definitions of therapeutic humor, important ele­ments of practice application, the rules of humor application in therapeutic practice, and the significance of the therapeutic context. The three aspects are: humor as the essential cornerstone in therapy or therapeutic approach, humor as the basis of some specific treatment methods, and humor as the therapist’s skill. The article also introduces the functions of humor treatment method in psychotherapy, which have an important role with decision making on how, why and when to apply humor for therapeutic purposes. Finally, the article deals with humor contraindications in psychotherapy, as some indi­viduals need careful.