Therapeutic Humor: Attitudes and Actions by Occupational Therapists in Adult Physical Disabilities Settings

This study examined attitudes and uses of humor by occupational therapists with their adult clients with physical disabilities. A cross-sectional survey of randomly selected occupational therapists from the American Occupational Therapy Association's Physical Disabilities Special Interest Section was used; 283 surveys qualified for the study. All of the respondents had positive attitudes towards humor and a large majority reported using humor. Four key areas of humor were further analyzed: relationships, coping, promoting physical health, and treatment compliance. While a large majority professed to value humor in each area, only about one-third reported using it in the last two areas. Humor attitudes and humor behaviors in each area showed a moderate positive correlation. Both spontaneous and planned use was reported. The results of this survey support humor use in occupational therapy practice to help clients rehabilitate.