Humour and Anxiety in Psychotherapy

Since working as a psychotherapist, I have found §that the clients who have best been able to handle§life, have been the humorous ones. I wrote about§this for my M.A. at Regent's Colege. I assess §anxiety from an existential position that looks at§how man relates to his setting, as well as how§society's cultural values affect it. Humour is§addressed existentially in the light of the anxiety§of the characters in Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot'.§Anxiety in a psychoanalytic way is seen in terms §of human development, in the context of §Superego/Ego relations. The child's relationship§to his mother is assessed regarding how her§being humorous may affect this psychic-agent§alliance. This piece analyses how humour affects§anxiety in case studies by Spinelli, Yalom and§Freud. How my own humour affected a client's§anxiety is also considered. This is a clinically§useful and original work that will appeal to §psychotherapists and counsellors, as it looks at§a subject largely neglected in psychotherapy :§how humour can enhance working with the§constant factor of anxiety in therapy. For further§information, please go to : §www.rjosephukcptherapist.co.uk. Since working as a psychotherapist, I have found §that the clients who have best been able to handle§life, have been the humorous ones. I wrote about§this for my M.A. at Regent''s Colege. I assess §anxiety from an existential position that looks at§how man relates to his setting, as well as how§society''s cultural values affect it. Humour is§addressed existentially in the light of the anxiety§of the characters in Beckett''s ''Waiting for Godot''.§Anxiety in a psychoanalytic way is seen in terms §of human development, in the context of §Superego/Ego relations. The child''s relationship§to his mother is assessed regarding how her§being humorous may affect this psychic-agent§alliance. This piece analyses how humour affects§anxiety in case studies by Spinelli, Yalom and§Freud. How my own humour affected a client''s§anxiety is also considered. This is a clinically§useful and original work that will appeal to §psychotherapists and counsellors, as it looks at§a subject largely neglected in psychotherapy :§how humour can enhance working with the§constant factor of anxiety in therapy. For further§information, please go to : §www.rjosephukcptherapist.co.uk.