A confession: I was a network situation comedy writer who decided
to get mymasters in psychology. I was making retribution for my
sins.
It was a startling contrast going from studio lots where people
worked at finding laughs to a profession where the mandatory operating
equipment includes a box of Kleenex.
Since one of my key survival mechanisms in life is laughing, I
asked my teachers if I could use humor with my clients. Their response:
"Be very cautious." Only last year, the American Psychoanalytic
Association held that humor was "inappropriate" to their mission, but
lately, cracks in the wall have begun to appear. A recent article in the
American Psychological Association Monitor described a "mirthful
consultant" who helped psychologists brighten patients' lives using
stuffed bears and scarf juggling. Other articles in magazines such as
Humor and Health have shown that mirth can lower stress and help
strengthen the immune system.
The diagnosis is that mirth is good for psychologists and their
clients. Organizations have been formed, businesses incorporated and
conventions held. I can hardly wait to see the scientific presentations:
"The Effect of Groucho Marx Glasses on Depression" or "The Impact of
Different-Size Whoopee Cushions in Clinical Settings." Can it be long
before we are blessed with specialists called mirthologists?
Hopefully this new attitude will be reflected in graduate training
programs. The only humor I recall was strictly unintentional. For
example, one of my teachers was named Dr. Looney. She pronounced it
loon-ay, but that just made it funnier. I envisioned her marrying a man
named Tunes and becoming Dr. Loon-ay-Tunes.
Irony abounded. The man who ran the program wrote a textbook with
touching humanistic tributes but barked at his students like a Marine
Corps drill sergeant: "You're being insensitive! You keep acting like
that and you're out of here!"
Sometimes I felt like I was in a situation comedy. As part of a
class project, a test completed by my best friend in the program
indicated she had lesbian tendencies. Should I tell her? What were the
right words? "You're closed off at times and by the way--you might be
gay." To my surprise, she said she'd never seriously considered it, but
relationships with guys weren't going all that well. Last time we talked,
she was living happily with another woman.
I understand that psychology has had to be somber to be taken
seriously--getting people to pay to talk with you is not an easy sell.
But it's time to stop acting like we're in a French movie where everybody
is so serious you want to scream at the screen. I'm not suggesting that
psychological training include classes in clowning and stand up comedy,
but loosening up a little could help therapists and their clients.
Therapy is a relationship, and enjoying a spontaneous humorous moment
together can establish rapport and offer insights. Humor is
idiosyncratic, a child of the moment we can all use more of in our lives.
After all, how many clients have gone to a psychologist because they were
laughing too much?
ILLUSTRATION (COLOR)
Adapted by Ph.D.
Steven Pritzker, Ph.D., is PT's humor editor. He has written for
The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Love Boat and Maude, and is co-editor of
the new Encyclopedia of Creativity (Academic Press, 1999).
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