Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 4:225–236, 2009

Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 1540-1383 print/1540-1391 online
DOI: 10.1080/15401380903192705

Humor: A Therapeutic Intervention

1540-1391
1540-1383
WCMH
Journal of Creativity in Mental Health,
Health Vol. 4, No. 3, August 2009: pp. 0–0

for Child Counseling

RACHELLE G. BERG, GERALD PARR, LORETTA J. BRADLEY,

Humor:
R. G. Berg
A Therapeutic
et al. Intervention

and JEREMY J. BERRY

Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA

Counselors utilize many strategies, techniques, and tools when

building a therapeutic alliance or addressing children’s issues.
Due to the serious nature of discussing problems or perhaps
because of the fear of seeming insensitive, counselors often
overlook humor as a means to enhance therapy. Whether deliberate
or spontaneous, humor can add creativity and insight to counseling
sessions. Humor is a valuable therapeutic adjunct in making assess-
ments, forming a therapeutic bond, helping children develop social
skills, encouraging catharsis, addressing resistance, reframing mal-
adaptive beliefs, and replacing rigid, self-absorbed perspectives. This
article discusses several types and examples of humor and uses
case studies to illustrate interventions.

KEYWORDS humor, counseling, children, adolescents, techniques,

creativity

Humor touches every facet of living. It is found in books, in movies, on

television, and in everyday social interactions. Surprisingly, however, humor
as an integral aspect of counseling theory and practice has received only
ancillary attention in the counseling literature. Ellis (1977, 1984, 1987, 1996),
for example, addresses humor as a therapeutic intervention, but in reading
his ideas one is left with the feeling that humor is an extension of his
personal style rather than an essential ingredient of his theory. Similar
conclusions can be derived from studying such theorists as Adler (1964),
Farrelley and Brandsma (1974), Haley (1996), and Mosak (1987). Although

Address correspondence to Rachelle G. Berg, College of Education, Texas Tech University,

Box 41071, Lubbock, TX 79409-1071, USA. E-mail: rachelle.berg@ttu.edu

225
226 R. G. Berg et al.

Reality Therapy (Glasser, 2000) identifies fun as a basic need, this theory
does not appear to feature humor in the process of counseling.
A review of the leading counseling textbooks makes this point salient.
Corey’s (2005) text, Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy,
for example, devotes only 12 lines of the entire text to using humor in
therapy (pp. 31–32), except for a small paragraph on its use by Ellis (p. 280).
The eighth edition of the text by Corsini and Wedding (2008), Current
Psychotherapies, does not include any reference to humor in its subject
index. A programmed text often used in courses on techniques of counseling,
Essential Interviewing: A Programmed Approach to Effective Communication
by Evans, Hearn, Uhlemann, and Ivey (2008), also makes no mention of
humor. These omissions may result in counselors misusing humor or not
using it at all with clients. The purpose of this article is to encourage coun-
selors to add humor to their repertoire of counseling interventions and to
elevate its application beyond intuition to a planned strategy.
Gladding (1995) concluded that while the counseling process can be
rigid and is one that is traditionally viewed as serious, humor has been
shown to occur frequently in counseling through the natural interactions of
its participants. Even though the strategic use of humor is rarely in the main-
stream of counselor training, recent literature on humor reveals that the
topic has been discussed from many facets, spanning various fields, thus
suggesting that humor is viewed as an important tool for maintaining and
improving physical and mental health. Using the literature on humor, this
article will specifically focus on how humor can enrich the counselor’s work
with children.

IMPORTANCE OF HUMOR

One initial reason to use humor during therapy is to develop rapport

between the child and the counselor. The therapist/client relationship
involves a power differential, especially when the client is a child. The
initial stages of counseling can be stressful for a child, and humor can be a
familiar and productive way of alleviating stress. One way to make the child
feel more comfortable with the situation is for the therapist to use humor to
reveal himself or herself as real, approachable, and human (Franzini, 2000).
The counselor could exchange life experiences with clients to illustrate
universality (Bernet, 2001; Gladding, 2005) and show that life does in fact
go on after feeling hurt and humiliated. Using humor in this manner may
also help build a feeling of alliance between the counselor and client
(Brooks, 1994). Zall (1994) suggests that the use of humor in the beginning
stages of counseling establishes that the counseling environment is a safe
place to discuss any topic, while simultaneously allowing the child to deter-
mine limits for therapy.
 Humor: A Therapeutic Intervention 227

Experiencing fear and self-protection may be part of any therapeutic

relationship, especially when the client did not choose to attend, a situation
that often occurs with young children. Laughing with clients can help
lighten the mood and reduce the need for self-protection in several ways.
Humor can help the client talk about difficult subjects. Humor provides
distance between the client and the sensitive topic; moreover, the client
may experience freedom to explore issues that otherwise can be over-
whelming. Humor may also help clients hear difficult feedback (Bernet,
2001; Brooks, 1994).
Using humor in counseling can help reduce tension, both inside and
outside the therapy session. A timely joke or humorous comment may
defuse a tense moment between counselor and client (Brooks, 1994;
Franzini, 2000), such as those that arise during power struggles with adoles-
cent clients. In a similar vein, humor allows clients to “release hostile feelings
in a socially acceptable manner” (Manke, 1998, p. 372). Using these tactics
in the microcosm of the counseling environment teaches children an important
skill that may help them defuse tense situations in their everyday lives. When
observing or using humor as a means of tension reduction, the counselor
must take care to ensure that the humor is not used as a defense against
discussing the problem at hand, for example, if a client starts to act silly
when a serious topic is introduced (Zall, 1994).
Modeling the appropriate and nonhostile use of humor and teaching
children how to use it in different social situations can benefit the child
outside the therapy room. Kilgore (2003) suggests that teaching children
jokes, and even practicing them, empowers children with a social skill that
leads to making and keeping friends. This may not only help the child gain
peer approval and respect, it can also help the child defuse conflict situa-
tions such as teasing or bullying (Kilgore, 2003; Klein, 2003; Martin, 1988).
Further, assessing the child’s use of and response to humor can help
with diagnostics in several areas. Humor is one indicator of cognitive and
social development (Bernet, 2001; Dana, 1994). For instance, very young
children commonly enjoy potty humor and nonsense words, so if this is the
main means of amusement for an older child, it could indicate delayed
development.

TYPES OF HUMOR

Various types of humor have been identified and include the unexpected,
exaggeration, incongruity, word play, nonverbal humor, and retrospective
humor. Different types of humor may be appropriate for different clients.
Counselors must be cognizant of the client’s cognitive stage of development
so that they don’t inadvertently cause insult or confusion (Kilgore, 2003;
Klein, 2003; Martin, 1988; McGhee, 1979; Zall, 1994). Sensitivity should also
228 R. G. Berg et al.

be used when choosing a type of humor to ensure that it matches or

challenges the mood appropriately and has a therapeutic purpose. Maples,
Dupey, Torres-Rivera, Phan, Vereen, and Garrett (2001) advocated that the
“use of humor should be tailored or customized to the particular client and
his specific cultural orientation” (p. 59). Therefore, counselors must have an
understanding of a wide range of humor styles to meet the specific needs of
their clients.

The Unexpected
One type of humor enjoyed by all ages is the unexpected. The unexpected
contains elements of trickery and surprise and is usually in the form of a
joke or riddle (Klein, 2003). This type of humor would be useful as an
icebreaker, rapport builder, tension breaker, or tool for the child to use to
make new friends. Some examples of the unexpected are:

Riddle: What’s clear on the outside and gray on the inside?

Answer: An elephant in a sandwich bag.
Humorous Story: A cowboy had two horses, but he couldn’t tell them
apart. He cut off one horse’s mane, but it grew back. He cut off the tail
but that grew back too. A friend suggested that he measure the horses.
The cowboy measured them and went back to his friend and said, “That
was a great idea—the black one was two inches taller than the white
one.” (Hahn, 2006, p. 9)

Exaggeration
A second type of humor is exaggeration. This type is useful for pointing out
unproductive thoughts or behaviors. The children’s book Alexander and the
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst (1972) is an
example of exaggeration. The main character faces one “mini disaster” after
another but realizes, in the end, that those days happen to everyone.
Similarly, a counselor could ask a child to purposely exaggerate the worst-
case scenario of a current concern to point out the improbability of the very
worst happening. Exaggeration should be well timed and applied only
when it is appropriate to, and harmonizes with, the context of a counseling
relationship, lest children misperceive that the counselor is minimizing or
devaluing their concerns.

Incongruity
Incongruity is one of the earliest forms of humor to develop and is
composed of impossibilities and improbabilities, such as movies with
talking animals. Bergen (1998) mentions calling things and people by the
 Humor: A Therapeutic Intervention 229

wrong names, or silly names, as another form of incongruity for very young
children. Riddles are another form of incongruity that combines with the
unexpected to puzzle the listener. Once the child learns them, they can be
used to stump others, thus giving the child a sense of mastery.

Riddle: What question can never be answered by “Yes”?

Answer: Are you asleep?

Word Play
Word play is another form of humor enjoyed by children, although it should be
noted that young children under the age of 6 or 7 may not understand this type
of humor (Bergen, 1998; Gladding, 2005). The double meaning of word play
surprises and delights, leaving the listener with different ways to see an issue.

Example: “‘Have you got any kittens going cheap?’ asked a customer in
a pet shop. ‘No, sir,’ replied the owner, ‘all of our kittens go meow’”
(Hahn, 2006, p. 16).

Nonverbal and Slapstick Humor

Nonverbal and slapstick humor can involve many areas of communication.
The actor Jim Carrey demonstrates the many aspects that go into humor
besides words: tone of voice, facial expression, body movements, and
props. All of these types of communication can be attended to in order for
the counselor to be humorous. Slapstick humor can help to get a client’s
attention or to make a young child more comfortable with the environment.

Retrospective Humor
One area of humor that is often significant in a counseling relationship is
retrospective humor. Retrospective humor is distinguished from other styles
of humor in that it is initially not experienced as humor (Goldin et al.,
2006). For the child who is further along in the counseling process, it can be
cathartic to recall a previously stressful moment in a humorous manner.
This type of humor should be child directed rather than directed by the
counselor to avoid the perception of minimizing the child’s experience.
While the client may direct intentional or unintentional humor, Goldin et al.
contend that client-directed humor might provide the counselor with an
indication that humor is appropriate to use in sessions. The use of retro-
spective humor may also demonstrate that a client is improving.
It is evident that humor has many uses and can assume various forms.
The next section of this article will provide case examples of how humor
can be creatively adapted to enhance mainstream theories of counseling.
230 R. G. Berg et al.

CASE ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE ECLECTIC AND STRATEGIC

USES OF HUMOR

While it is widely recognized that humor must be used strategically, this

section will illustrate the strategic use of various types of humor with
children who have a broad range of concerns. Pseudonyms are used, and
details are altered to protect confidentiality. First, it is best to respond positively
when a child initiates the use of humor. In fact, we often see if humor can be
used as leverage to cement the child’s commitment to counseling.

Case of Robert
Robert, a child struggling with school because of attention deficit and
hyperactivity, introduced humor during his initial counseling session with a
knock-knock joke.

Robert: Knock-knock.
Counselor (CO): Who’s there?
Robert: Ben.
CO: Ben who?
Robert: Been waiting so long I’m exhausted.

Robert then asked, “Can we start this counseling with jokes?” The counselor
replied, “Sure, and if you would like, I will share some of my jokes too, but
let’s tell jokes later. “Great,” Robert replied. The counselor employs the
Premack Principle (Premack, 1959, 1963), which states that desired behavior
can be strengthened when highly prized behavior is used as a reward. Thus,
to encourage focused and productive work on problems, the counselor can
use the exchange of jokes as a reward for children’s willingness to face the
problems that brought them to counseling. Furthermore, finding genuine
opportunities to acknowledge Robert’s ability to remember a vast fund of
knock-knock jokes, the counselor sought to strengthen Robert’s self-esteem
and intellectual efficacy. As the themes that concerned Robert surfaced over
time, the counselor selected jokes that served as a springboard for the focus
of therapy. For example, Robert held very high standards for himself, and
with school being quite a challenge in view of his learning challenges, the
following joke was offered to bring some perspective to his struggles:

Question: “What is the best way to make straight A’s?”

Answer: “With a ruler!” (Yahoo kids’ jokes, n.d.).

Another valuable source of humor is Charles Schulz’s Peanuts cartoons

wherein Charlie Brown is forever lovable in spite of his failures and self-
defeating stubbornness (Schultz, 1950–2000).
 Humor: A Therapeutic Intervention 231

Case of Teddy
An example of how a child can naturally and spontaneously use humor to
cope with life demands was provided by Teddy, a shy 10-year-old whose
father brought him to counseling because he did not have any close
friends.

CO: How did the week go?

Teddy: Not so good.
CO: Really, what happened?”
Teddy: The kids are teasing me because I don’t wear boxer shorts.
CO: That sounds like something that can be fixed pretty easily.
Teddy: Well, I asked Mom to buy me boxers, but she said they wouldn’t
give me enough support.
CO: So that was it—no boxers for you?
Teddy: Nope, but I told her that if she hadn’t noticed, I didn’t need
much support!

Neither the dad nor the counselor could restrain their caring laughter. This
spontaneous comment led to continued work on assertiveness, and Teddy
was encouraged to use humor with peers as well as with family. Dad
bought Teddy several pairs of boxers.

Eclectic Uses
To encapsulate other eclectic uses of humor, we have found the following
applications enrich our work with children. For depressed children, we
introduce humor within the counseling session only after we see some
progress. We use homework fairly early in treatment, however; this includes
reading humorous books and watching humorous movies or television
shows, depending on the child’s preferences and developmental readiness.
Later, as the rapport has solidified and the child has moved toward a more
hopeful outlook, we introduce jokes, puns, and riddles calibrated to the
child’s readiness intellectually and emotionally. Examples of books we like
include A Teacher on Roller Skates by David Adler (1989), The Funniest
Knock-Knock Book Ever! by Joseph Rosenbloom (1986), and Belly Laughs!
by Charles Keller (1990).
Role playing is an ideal way to exaggerate maladaptive interpersonal
behaviors or self-defeating thoughts. For illustration, a dialogue with Joan,
an aggressive 11-year-old girl, is provided.

CO: We have been working on ways you can be assertive rather than
aggressive. Let’s role play how not to talk to a teacher who has disci-
plined a student like you, okay? Which role do you want to play, the
student whom we call Frieda, or the teacher, Ms. Smith?
232 R. G. Berg et al.

Joan: I’ll be the teacher.

CO: Okay, I’ll be an aggressive student. Let’s say that Ms. Smith has just
told Frieda to stop talking because she was bothering others who are
trying to do their work, okay?
Joan: Yea, I get it.
CO: Here we go, I’m going to be an aggressive Frieda.
CO as Frieda: Quit picking on me or I will poke your eyes out and bite off
your nose (said with a very loud voice, glaring eyes, and closed fists).
Joan as Ms. Smith: Don’t talk like that or I will send you to the principal.
CO as Frieda: I’ll punch him in his belly with a pogo stick if you do.
(Joan laughs at the slapstick humor conjured up by the images created
by the role play.)
CO: Let’s stop and discuss why this is no way to treat a teacher, or any-
one for that matter.

Role playing can also exaggerate irrational beliefs and reframe views
that stand in the way of mental health. When counseling a nonassertive
child, for example, the counselor might exaggerate self-deprecation by
verbalizing thoughts like “I am no better than a worm and deserve nothing
better than a bit of dirt to fatten me up for a fisherman’s hook.” The ensuing
discussion usually results in the child acknowledging that no child should
be treated like a worm or think of her/himself like that. Role playing can
then affirm how precious every child is as a birthright and other reframes
that challenge a discounted view of one’s worth.
Exaggeration is contraindicated for some topics: death of a pet or a
loved one, for example. Likewise, some children are too literal to grasp that
exaggeration is a way of seeing issues in another way, often a more
adaptive way. The next section will expand on this section by focusing on
applications in group counseling.

THE USE OF HUMOR IN GROUP COUNSELING

Children and adolescents will often use jokes in group therapy. When a
joke occurs, the therapist must determine whether this joke was used to
distract the group from dealing with an unsettling topic or if the joke can be
used to facilitate group work (Bernet, 2001). Oftentimes, group counselors
will use jokes as a form of “rounds,” where each client has an opportunity
to tell a joke. Bernet states that each client should receive feedback regarding
what the group thought about their joke. It is important for therapists to allow
the clients to tell any manner of joke within the confines of the group, while
explaining that these jokes may not be appropriate outside the group. Some
jokes may be considered offensive or inappropriate in settings outside the
confines of the group, and feedback within the group may be a unique way
of gauging how others feel about a particular brand of humor. Humor in
 Humor: A Therapeutic Intervention 233

group therapy can focus the client toward many goals. Children are
frequently interested in participating in the free exchange of humor, and
this is a dynamic tool for getting the group involved. The structure of the
group may allow each child to get feedback from the other members of the
group, which can further facilitate group cohesiveness. Children are often
more spontaneous in this format, as they are unaware of the unique infor-
mation about themselves they are revealing (Bernet, 2001). In addition, this
type of feedback may help the child assess their understanding of what is
acceptable in a therapeutic setting, and what is acceptable outside of this
particular setting.

CAUTIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS WHEN USING HUMOR

While humor can be a valuable counseling tool with children and adoles-
cents, it is best to utilize it thoughtfully and with caution. Counselors recog-
nize that the misuse of humor can harm the relationship with the client
(Kubie, 1970). Counselors should ask themselves why they are using humor
and be able to explain how it enhances the counseling process (Maples et al.,
2001). Clients are not alone in using humor to avoid difficult problems, for
sometimes counselors use humor to “lighten the moment” and, in turn,
avoid facing the challenging issue.
Gladding (2005) and Goldin et al. (2006) point out that to avoid
difficulties in using humor, a counselor must consider timing, appropriate-
ness, and receptivity. Counselors must take extra caution using humor in
beginning stages when trust and rapport are built. The client’s mood at the
time must be taken into account since there will be times when the use of
humor is obviously inappropriate (Martin, 1988). Humor’s specific purpose
in counseling should be in facilitation, as it must fit into the current continuum
of what is unfolding in treatment (Goldin et al., 2006).
Counselors must consider each client individually when using certain
types of humor. There is a consensus in the field (Dana, 1994; Klein, 2003)
that the child’s cognitive level and capacities should be taken into account
when choosing a type of humor; for example, concrete thinkers might miss
the subtlety of abstract humor.
The client’s cultural background is also important to consider since dif-
ferent cultures have varying expectations of the counselor and the therapy
process and different responses to types of humor. Maples et al. (2001)
point out that trust and respect must be firmly established before joking
with culturally diverse clients, and professionalism should be observed at all
times. For some cultures, such as Native American and Asian cultures,
humor is accepted during informal situations, but would seem out of place
and unprofessional if a relationship has not yet been established. Maples
et al. also caution the counselor to consider and respect the client’s cultural
234 R. G. Berg et al.

experience including experience with racism, discrimination, and oppres-

sion; to limit self-ridiculing stories with cultures that see the counselor as
expert, and perhaps to ask permission to use a certain type of humor when
in doubt.

CONCLUSION

Humor is an often underutilized tool that can be misused in counseling.

When used positively and thoughtfully, it improves the counseling relation-
ship and environment, helps the counselor assess the client’s cognitive
abilities and mental health, and teaches young clients new skills they can
use in their everyday lives. Humor is a vehicle to establish and maintain a
therapeutic alliance with children. It says, in terms of meta communication,
to the child, “I am approachable and I invite your creativity. I take your
concerns seriously, but I see you as a person, not as a problem child to be
fixed.”
Humor can be misused just as other interventions, such as confronta-
tion, and can be poorly timed or ill suited to the individuality of the client.
Humor is often contraindicated for certain topics and for children who have
difficulty grasping the meaning behind the messages that underlie humor.
Similarly, not all counselors are drawn to or feel comfortable with humor.
Nevertheless, when humor synchronizes with the counselor’s and client’s
ways of relating to life and communicating to others, it is a potential power
tool—one often overlooked by training programs and counselors seeking
creative ways of helping.

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Rachelle G. Berg and Jeremy J. Berry are doctoral students in Counselor

Education, Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership, College of
Education, at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.
Gerald Parr is a Professor in Counselor Education, Department of Educa-
tional Psychology and Leadership, College of Education at Texas Tech
University, Lubbock, TX.
Loretta J. Bradley is a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor in Counselor Education,
Department of Educational Psychology and Leadership, College of Education
at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX.