Humor, affecting feeling, behavior and physiology of individuals is a phenomenon which takes place in the base of human nature. Absurd and conflicting situations of daily life can be expressed with humor in a relaxing and entertaining way. As a result of studies indicating humor and psychological health are associated, and it is suggested that humor can be used as a therapeutic means in psychotherapy process. It is stated that humor has influences on breaking resistance, decreasing the tension which occurred in therapy and getting the clients to look at events from a different perspective. In this context, in the related literature, it is seen that the concept of humor is described therapeutically, the goals of usage of humor in therapy, its positive effects and the risks of using humor are stated. This review has been done to enlighten the necessity of using humor more efficiently in psychotherapy process while considering the facilitating effects of it. In this context, firstly the definition of therapeutic humor, the practicality of humor for both therapist and client; secondly conceptualization of humor in terms of psychotherapy theories are explained. It is stressed that humor is not only effective in individual therapy but also in group psychotherapy; although it contains some destructive effects, if used properly it is a means to contribute to healing. Furthermore, the criteria to use humor and the possible risks to be considered are discussed in the frame of literature.
Key words: humor, therapeutic humor, psychotherapy
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