Ha Ha and Aha: The Role of Humor in Psychotherapy

The use of humor in psychotherapy is discussed in this book. Part A focuses on humor itself. The first chapter discusses what makes things funny. The situational aspects of humor, witticism, joke-telling skills, ethnic humor, puns, and laughter are discussed. The second chapter presents three types of theories of humor: release-related theories; disparagement-related theories; and incongruity-related theories. The third chapter discusses the structure of the joke and presents 12 categories of jokes. Part B focuses on humor in psychotherapy. The fourth chapter discusses the role of humor in psychotherapy, including the role of humor in establishing a relationship and the role of humor in diagnosis. The fifth chapter discusses the role of humor in interpretation; the sixth chapter discusses turning the client around with humor; the seventh chapter presents humor as a criterion for termination; and the eighth chapter relates humor to the therapist's skill. Part C presents 45 pages of jokes to be used in psychotherapy. (ABL)