Premium
Ethnic Diversity and the Use of Humor in Counseling: Appropriate or Inappropriate?
Author(s) -
Maples Mary Finn,
Dupey Peggy,
TorresRivera Edil,
Phan Loan T.,
Vereen Linwood,
Garrett Michael Tlanusta
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of counseling and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.805
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1556-6676
pISSN - 0748-9633
DOI - 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2001.tb01943.x
Subject(s) - distraction , feeling , diversity (politics) , psychology , ethnic group , psychotherapist , existentialism , social psychology , cultural diversity , subject (documents) , clinical psychology , cognitive psychology , epistemology , sociology , computer science , philosophy , anthropology , library science
Humor can reflect the healthy release of feelings during the counseling process, the type of emotional release that leads to significant therapeutic gains. It can also be a disturbing distraction, possibly causing early termination, if used inappropriately. Counselors need to exert particular caution before attempting to apply humor in working with a client from a culture different from the counselor's. This article explores the available literature and offers contributions on the subject from 4 “ethnically diverse” perspectives. Finally, a general approach based on existential theory is presented along with 5 general conditions to ascertain the appropriate use of humor.