ABSTRACT
The use of humour in therapy has often been discussed and has its proponents and its critics. One of its proponents was Albert Ellis, the founder of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy. Ellis argued that one way of viewing psychological problems was that it was the result of a person taking themself, others and/or life too seriously and that, consequently, the therapist could help the person by encouraging them to adopt a humorous perspective. They can best do this by using humour themself in the single session, as long as they have a sense of humour. The client may not have a sense of humour or, if they do, they might think that humour has no place in therapy. Given all this, the therapist needs to tread carefully when thinking about using humour in Single-Session Therapy (SST). Therapist humour can best help the client by promoting constructive cognitive change within an emotionally aroused context.
