63rd Annual Conference

Friday February 24

Early Bird Open Sessions

7:15 A.M. – 8:15 A.M.

Session 213

Laughter and Tears in Group Psychotherapy

Chair:

Dennis Zeitlin, M.D., CGP

Presenter: 

Robert Weber, Ph.D., CGP, FAGPA, Clinical Instructor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Laughter and tears are not infrequent visitors to our groups.  How comfortable are we with their appearance?  How do we understand their various manifestations? How are they part of the group's curative processes?  How do we make use of them for the therapeutic benefit of the members?

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Define laughter and tears in ways that are relevant to the behavioral sciences and applicable to therapeutic group work

2. Describe the ways in which laughter and tears operate in group for the therapeutic benefit of group members

3. Practice in ways that access and potentiate these two factors in order to enhance the "curative" qualities of the group.

Course References:

1. Grotjahn, M. (1971).  Laughter in Group Psychotherapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 21(2), 234-238.

2. Kottler, J. (1996).  The Language of Tears.  San Franciso: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

3. Lutz, T. (1999). Crying: The Natural and Cultural History of Tears. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

4. Provine, R. (2000). Laughter: A scientific investigation. New York: Viking