ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the specific value and the use of laughter in helping grievers with their mourning process. It recaps what has been said about the major attributes of laughter for grief counseling: it is on a cathartic continuum with crying, the venting of anger and the expression of fear; it is a “lighter,” less threatening form of emotional release than those other kinds of catharsis. In society there are at least three major types of deterrents or barriers to a catharsis of the emotional and physical pain of the grieving that stems from the loss. The first of these barriers is our emotional defense mechanisms. The second barrier to the cathartic purging of the pain of grieving is personal belief systems. The third barrier is our society’s norms. There are several different presentations of the “grieving tasks” notion in the literature.
