The role of laughter in cognitive-behavioral therapy: Case studies

Abstract

This study reports an analysis using the conversation analytical (CA) approach of the use of laughter within a corpus of cognitive therapy sessions. The results relating to eight first encounter sessions reveal that a client’s laughter may accompany disagreement as well as agreement with the therapist. In both cases, the therapist does not reciprocate the client’s laughter and replies by investigating the client in question’s condition, and this approach to the client’s laughter produces significant results in therapeutic work. This article focuses on the asymmetry that characterizes the roles of the psychotherapist and the client in psychotherapy sessions and, in particular, on the part that laughter plays in this type of scenario.