Jokes as a projective technique: the humor of psychiatric patients

Jokes were obtained from psychiatric patients during the course of diagnostic testing and interviewing. The material was subjected to a content analysis which included the nature of the main characters and their relationships, the situations presented, and the major overt and concealed themes. This paper discusses and gives examples of the projective and psychodynamic value of humor in professional practice. The jokes helped in the understanding of diagnosis, symptoms, and basic conflicts. They provided guidelines for treatment and the treatment plan. They depicted the struggles of the participants to cope with relationships, problems, crises, and change. None of these struggles were unique to patients. Jokes cut through professional distinctions and diagnostic classifications, and present the person behind the label. They reflect the nature of the self especially in its more troubling and problematic aspects; yet they also reveal the healthy and intact part of the person. Jokes were valuable as a projective method because they constituted a non-threatening vehicle for revealing otherwise threatening and concealed truths about the person; they communicate those aspects of the human condition that are most anxiety provoking; and last, but not least, they end the interview on an enjoyable and positive note.