Laughter in the Therapy Room
Are you serious? (Heh!)
I suspect most imaginations around a consultation and therapy room provided for psychological wellbeing contain images of weeks of unhappy, painful and tearful interactions.
Is this how you see it?
I can’t lie; those and many more painful conditions do occur (frequently) but so does laughter, relief and acceptance, to a greater or lesser degree. When acknowledgement is discovered from individuals; when they ‘find’ they really ARE an individual with choices – and a genuine place in this world, everything lightens.
There is very little written about the role of humour in such a culturally serious environment, yet, in discussions with peers, experiences demonstrate laughter and humour is not only helpful (when appropriate of course), it’s actually really welcome. This state of lightness brings a special human engagement that is difficult to contrive without integrity.
Laughter: It is so powerful and healing!
Laughter and crying are so close and in synergy with each other. Both are complicit in forging an even closer and stronger alliance to the collaborative human efforts working towards the same goal. There are times where clients may laugh out of nervousness, or whilst being dismissive to something that may require further exploration, but most therapists can pick this up and respond appropriately.
So, if you find yourself a little low, perhaps wishing you had the courage to meet with a counsellor, but the last thing you need is another ‘grumpy’ environment, please know, a therapy room is regularly filled with happiness, joy and yes… even laughter!
Bob Brotchie
Bob Brotchie is a counsellor, life coach and creator of Conscious Living by Design™. He writes for Anglia Counselling, is featured on various other websites and introduces us to many guest writers all covering topics related to mental health and wellbeing.
Bob provides bespoke counselling services to clients in the privacy and comfort of a truly welcoming environment at his Anglia Counselling company office, located near Newmarket in Suffolk, England. Bob also provides professional online counselling, for local, national, and international clients. The therapeutic models offered are bespoke to the client’s needs, especially those in receipt of 'childhood emotional neglect' (CEN), whilst integrating a mindful approach to psychotherapy and cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) principles. For clients experiencing trauma and/or phobia, Bob offers EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing).