99福利视频
In my family, laughter was as automatic as breathing. I mean, I heard laughter everywhere, including funerals. Actually, being Irish American, I probably heard the most laughter at funerals鈥
My family had our share of dysfunction and drama, but I think if there鈥檚 one thing that my two brothers and I survived our childhood with, it鈥檚 that we really like to laugh, and even more so, we like to cause听other people to laugh.
photo by Claudia Escareno-Clark
So what鈥檚 this got to do with becoming a therapist? Well, I don鈥檛 want to get into the whole Patch Adams schtick, because frankly, clowns are terrifying, but I personally see a few pretty major therapeutic benefits to humor鈥
The great Existential Psychiatrist and holocaust survivor, Dr. Viktor Frankl, had a whole theory about the therapeutic value of humor. He decided that humor could be termed as something called 鈥減aradoxical intention.鈥 Basically, the use of humor in therapy allows me, as a client, to separate what is bothering me from myself. Humor allows me to identify an issue I am having as something outside of my core being and听put some air and light between me and听that issue.
Some science dudes also say that laughing releases all kinds of good hormones in the brain. I read an article this morning that said that just the anticipation alone of watching a funny movie helps my brain to create these special hormones. That鈥檚 pretty cool if you want to get into the chemistry of the matter.
I听personally feel like humor brings folks back down to earth. I have always been drawn to people with a hearty sense of humor, because I feel like they鈥檙e approachable. Humor somehow feels connected to humility to me, and I think that鈥檚 a really great quality, especially in听a therapist.
My favorite archetypal folks are Huck Finn, the fool in Tarot, and Charlie Chaplin. To me, there is a lot of wisdom in just surrendering to life, letting go of my desire to control external circumstances, and simply听laughing.
Professionally, I don鈥檛 plan on constantly laughing with clients I work with, but I do feel like humor is going to be a pretty important part of what I do. I鈥檓 not planning on being a creepy clown like Patch Adams or anything, but I think humor is one of the greatest medicines there is.
