Why don't psychotherapists laugh? : enjoyment and the consulting room / Ann Shearer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shearer, Ann, 1943- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Laughter--Psychological aspects.

Laughter.

Psychotherapy.

Psychotherapists.

Physical Description:

vi, 143 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2016.

Summary:

The capacity for humour is one of life's blessings. So why is it so lacking in the theory and even the practice of analysis and therapy? This is the first book of its kind about a neglected and even taboo topic: the place of enjoyment and good humour in psychotherapy. Why Don't Psychotherapists Laugh? traces the development of professional psychotherapy and its almost exclusive focus on life's tragedies. This may naturally suit some practitioners; others may learn that a proper therapeutic persona is serious, even solemn. But what are they and their clients missing? Ann Shearer draws on ideas about humour and its functions from antiquity to contemporary stand-up comedy and beyond, to explore how it works in both mind and body. She shows how even the blackest humour may yield psychological information, and how humour can help build therapeutic relationships and be a catalyst for healing. Through real-life stories from consulting rooms, told by both therapists and clients, the author shows how a sense of enjoyment and good humour can restore life to people in distress - and how destructive a lack of these may become. This book provides a resource for further reflection on the therapeutic task. It will also intrigue anyone who wants to know more about the kinds of people psychotherapists are, what they do and why. Written in a highly accessible style, Why Don't Psychotherapists Laugh? will appeal to psychotherapists with a range of trainings and allegiances, their teachers in vocational and academic institutions and their clients, as well as to readers with an interest in psychotherapy, humour and psychology. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Starting points 1

2 A goddess laughs 11

Humour and the healers 17

3 In theory 19

4 Looking outwards 29

5 Looking inwards 39

What's so funny? 49

6 Senses of humour 51

7 Shadow stories 61

8 Bodies and brains 69

In the consulting room 79

9 Thresholds 81

10 Power and promise 89

11 Bridges and boundaries 99

12 No laughing matter? 109

13 Stories of life and death 117

14 Looking back 127.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781138899605

1138899607

9781138899612

1138899615

OCLC:

929917920