Humour Triangle

Andrew Lansdown

Description

Humour in TherapyHave you ever wondered why humour sometimes is not very humorous and, in fact, can inflict more damage than good? Lansdown's research to date has shown that all therapists interviewed acknowledge that it's the relationship between the therapist and client that is one of the most important factors in the therapeutic process. The question Lansdown asked, "Could humour enhance this relationship?" He was amazed with their reactions and perceptions especially when the words 'humour' and 'therapy' were mentioned in the same sentence. A common belief is psychotherapy is paradigmatically serious and heavy stuff, and humour is not compatible with counselling. The late Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said "A joke is a very serious thing". However...?Lansdown has discovered a solution by discussing the taboo subject of using 'humour' as a method to improve therapy. Lansdown introduces The Humour Triangle and reveals how this method can be successful.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Psychology

Informations

• Publié par: Brown Dog Books
• Date de parution: 15 octobre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 7
• EAN13: 9781839522017
• Langue: English

Extrait

This edition published 2020
Copyright © Andrew Lansdown 2020
The right of Andrew Lansdown to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright holder.
The Humour Triangle is a work of fiction, any resemblance between the characters herein and real persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Published under licence by Brown Dog Books and
The Self-Publishing Partnership, 7 Green Park Station, Bath BA1 1JB

www.selfpublishingpartnership.co.uk
ISBN printed book: 978-1-83952-200-0
ISBN e-book: 978-1-83952-201-7
Cover design by Andrew Prescott
Internal design by Andrew Easton
Printed and bound in the UK
This book is printed on FSC certified paper
Contents
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Introduction
Preface
Part One
Part Two
References
Acknowledgements
With thanks and deep gratitude to Jenny and Becky for their unwavering support and belief.
Thanks to Martin Williamson for his wonderful artwork and for bringing Berkeley and The Prof to life.
This book is dedicated with love to Edna and Fred Lansdown
Roger Lansdown who sadly never stayed around long enough to read this book R.I.P.
Introduction
Have you ever wondered why humour isn’t funny? So have I. My story starts with Professor Hawthorn pondering this thought after attending a conference and the delivery of a research paper by a young therapist. His paper quite simply posed the question: Would humour inhibit or enhance the relationship between people and improve communication?
The story will start to unfold with many unanswered questions which would be debated between the professor and a professional comedian Barclay Squire.
The message in this story will allow you, the reader, to be more informed and confident in understanding why humour is not always correctly perceived or accepted when we encounter humorous situations.
It will also give you a solution which will empower you to improve your communication skills when considering the use of humour.
Preface
When I first became interested in counselling the very first course was twelve one day a week session on ‘Listening Skills’. Although I had great ambitions of becoming a distinguished therapist little did I know that, all these years later, I would contribute to my chosen profession, a theory which would advise therapist’s on how to approach the subject of humour especially in the therapy room.
Humorous things happen between people. Humour can be an easy way to communicate and at the same time can be grossly misunderstood. As a therapist we are instructed therapy is a serious subject with which I agree, however every therapist will have to acknowledge there are times in a therapy session that expose certain unspoken thoughts and feelings for both therapist and client which can easily turn reactions into humorous thoughts, in turn this can have disastrous outcomes as you may be aware your sense of humour may not be appreciated by the other which can lead to a break-down in a relationship. All therapists will agree that the therapist-client relationship is the most important ingredient for a successful outcome.
After twelve months year’s research on the effects of humour in therapy for my Master’s Degree I concurred with Winston Churchill that humour was a serious thing however, it is an integral part of human communication and my research convinced me although humour is a serious thing it can also be useful in a therapeutic setting.
I decided to write an article based on my findings after discussing with a senior lecturer at Bristol University I was advised I should write a book the thought seemed preposterous. Due to the undiagnosed dyslexia I was unable to read or write when I was ten years of age so going to university was a miracle let alone the prospect of becoming a published author.
From that meeting I delivered my research paper at a national conference and subsequently have given presentations of it to different organisations.
My inspiration to write this book was from a professor who I overheard at the railway station after he had attended my research talk. He was talking to a colleague and said “Lansdown may have discovered something. Using humour that has been a taboo for therapists but learning how to take advantage of it may be useful for the future.”
This book loosely documents my experiences based on my research and the difficulty I encountered when suggesting humour could be used in therapy.