Date of Award
Spring 5-5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Major
Clinical Mental Health Counselling
First Advisor
Dr. Angelle Cook, RDT/BCT
Abstract
Previous studies on humor in therapy suggest that some types of humor are more beneficial than others. This author found humor to be an essential part of coping with the loss of her mother and wondered why humor is broken down into good and bad parts, when humor can be subjective and dependent on culture and context. Using Robert Landy’s Role Theory and Dintino’s theory of Playing with the Unplayable, the author aimed to neutralize humor by exploring the roles that humor plays in therapy and hoped to find a practical definition of humor that could be appropriate in a therapeutic setting. This master’s thesis played the role of a community arts engagement project gathering comedians, therapists, and those affected by grief/loss to come together for three drama therapy workshops exploring what makes humor therapeutic and if/when there would ever be a time to hold in the joke. This arts-based project included the perspectives of 5 participants, many of whom identified with all three roles of comedian, therapist, and griever. The author found that humor served the group as a tool for processing grief, empowerment over one’s personal narratives, and a catalyst for connection both in the group and in the participants personal lives.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Michel, Abby T., "Practical Jokes: A Drama Therapy Process between Comedians, Therapists, and Those Affected by Grief/Loss on the Ongoing Development of Therapeutic Humor" (2025). Expressive Therapies Theses. 17.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/expressive_therapies_theses/17
