Forest, Jean

Groups, Humor, and Interpretation - 2005.


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Based on his experience with groups and psychodrama, the author presents a definition and a possible function of humor in analytic groups. According to its aptness and its measure, humor reduces resistance or acts as a process which reduces excitement, allowing for acceptable interpretations. The capacity to laugh at oneself and at ourselves is a sign of good health and psychical work in progress. Humor is often brought by a patient and the function of “humor-deliverer” is more or less shared. Its use by the analyst, claimed here to be possible, needs some precaution. Some clinical cases (in therapy, in training, and in institutions) suggest its limits and benefits.