A bite of dark chocolate? Black humour in mental health services

Black humour permits expression of what may otherwise be unspeakable and is observed and used by staff working in mental health services. The aim of this study was to identify how humour, particularly black humour, was perceived by different health professionals in psychiatric practice.

Participants were invited to complete a survey. Data was collated and statistically analysed by a biostatistician. Chi square and univariate tests were performed to identify associations between categories.

The sub-question relating to the benefits of black humour was analysed. Main findings were that the majority of staff perceived black humour to be beneficial in psychiatric practice (n = 564 of 710 total; 79.4%), particularly if they used general and black humour with patients, families and colleagues. Those who observed black humour being used collegially about patients and families were more likely to find black humour beneficial; and even those uncomfortable with black humour being used by colleagues were more likely to see the benefits of black humour.

Black humour was perceived to be beneficial in mental health settings when used mindfully, sensitively and in context. Further study with patients and relatives may shed light on how widely the perception of benefit is shared.