Format: Audio MP3 file download

Presenter: Linda Thomson, MSN, APRN, ABMH, ABNH

Incorporating Humor and Laughter into the Treatment Relationship

Rapport is the single most important variable in the success of hypnosis. Incorporating humor and laughter into the relationship can have a beneficial effect on the therapeutic alliance between clinician and patient. Humor therapy promotes spontaneous therapeutic patient laughter. Laughter has positive, quantifiable effects on certain aspects of health. Scientific research has shown that laughter may have both preventive and therapeutic value both physiologically and psychologically. This workshop will include a discussion of the theories of the function of humor and the benefits of laughter. The beneficence of mirth in our own self-care will also be addressed. Participatory laughter will be encouraged.