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An Experiential Workshop on Utilizing Humor as a Therapeutic Modality

Tuesday, July 14th, 2026   7:00 PM EDT -9:00 PM EDT
Edwin Susskind, PhD
$49.99 USD Cost For Member: $0

Humor and storytelling have long been utilized within psychotherapy as mechanisms for enhancing therapeutic alliance, facilitating emotional processing, reducing defensiveness, and promoting cognitive flexibility. These interventions may function as “trans-rational” techniques, accessing emotional and relational material that may not emerge through exclusively cognitive or skills-based approaches.

This experiential workshop will examine the clinical application of humor as an adjunctive therapeutic modality across treatment settings. Participants will review relevant literature regarding humor in psychotherapy, observe clinical examples, engage in experiential exercises and role-play demonstrations, and explore both the therapeutic potential and clinical risks associated with humor-based interventions. Emphasis will be placed on developing intentional, ethically appropriate, and culturally sensitive uses of humor within participants’ primary therapeutic orientations.

About the Presenter

Dr. Susskind received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Yale, 55 years ago. He next spent 15 years as a full-time faculty member at 3 universities . He is a full-time therapist in private practice, an author, an international lecturer, and a frequent workshop leader at Nefesh conferences. In addition to is work as a therapist, he has been a stand-up comic. Videos of his comedic work can be found on youtube.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Differentiate between rational/cognitive therapeutic interventions and trans-rational humor-based interventions, including the theoretical mechanisms through which humor may facilitate emotional processing and therapeutic alliance.
  2. Demonstrate the application of humor-based therapeutic interventions through structured role-play or case-based clinical scenarios appropriate to diverse client presentations.
  3. Identify potential clinical risks, ethical concerns, and contraindications associated with the use of humor in psychotherapy, including situations in which humor may impair rapport, reinforce defenses, or invalidate client affect

Agenda:

00:00–00:10  Introduction, Workshop Orientation, and Experiential Warm-Up

• Overview of humor as a therapeutic modality

• Establishing participant engagement and workshop goals


00:10–00:25  Literature Review and Conceptual Foundations of Humor as a Trans-Rational Intervention

• Historical and theoretical perspectives

• Humor, emotional processing, and therapeutic alliance

• Review of relevant psychotherapy literature


00:25–00:35  Clinical Demonstrations and Guiding Principles for Therapeutic Humor

• Presenter case examples

• Timing, attunement, and ethical considerations

• Distinguishing therapeutic humor from avoidance or defensiveness


00:35–00:55  Dyadic and Large Group Discussion: Participants’ Prior Clinical Use of Humor

• Processing previous experiences using humor therapeutically

• Identifying effective and ineffective interventions

• Cultural and relational considerations


00:55–01:05  Break


01:05–01:25  Experiential Role-Play: Improvisational Humor in Clinical Scenarios

• Spontaneous intervention practice

• Therapist responsiveness and flexibility

• Group feedback and processing


01:25–01:45  Small Group Development of Humor-Based Clinical Interventions

• Designing interventions appropriate to participants’ practice settings

• Integrating humor into existing therapeutic modalities


01:45–02:00  Closing Reflection, Guided Exercise, and Clinical Integration

• Reflective processing

• Ethical and practical takeaways

• Resources for continued learning

This workshop offers 2 Live Interactive Continuing Education Credits

This presentation is open to:
  • Social Workers
  • Professional Counselors
  • Therapists
  • Psychologists
  • Licensed Mental Health Practitioners
  • Medical Doctors and Other Health Professionals
  • Other professionals interacting with populations engaged in mental health based services
Course Level: intermediate
Level of Clinician: intermediate
  • New practitioners who wish to gain enhanced insight surrounding the topic
  • Experienced practitioners who seek to increase and expand fundamental knowledge surrounding the subject matter
  • Advanced practitioners seeking to review concepts and reinforce practice skills and/or access additional consultation
  • Managers seeking to broaden micro and/or macro perspectives

Participants will receive their certificate electronically upon completion of the webinar and course evaluation form.

Disability Access - If you require ADA accommodations, please contact our office 30 days or more before the event. We cannot ensure accommodations without adequate prior notification. Please Note: Licensing Boards change regulations often, and while we attempt to stay abreast of their most recent changes, if you have questions or concerns about this course meeting your specific board’s approval, we recommend you contact your board directly to obtain a ruling. The grievance policy for trainings provided by NEFESH INTERNATIONAL is available here Satisfactory Completion Participants must have paid the tuition fee, logged in and out each day, attended the entire workshop, and completed an evaluation to receive a certificate (If this is a pre-recorded program, a post-test with a passing grade of 80% to receive a certificate.) Failure to log in or out will result in forfeiture of credit for the entire course. No exceptions will be made. Partial credit is not available. Certificates are available after satisfactory course completion by clicking here.
There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.
  • NEFESH International, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0116.
  • NEFESH International is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0046
  • NEFESH International is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Mental Health Counselor #MHC-0082
  • NEFESH International is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0048.
Refund Policy:
Full Refund until 48 hours before scheduled date.
48 hours before: full refund less $5.00 processing fee. After event no refund will be given.
*exclusions apply for reasonable need and cause.