Sergi Piñar Rodríguez

Throughout history, the conceptualisation of “humour” has posed a challenge, without achieving a definitive consensus. This study explores the application of humour in mental health, highlighting its potential to strengthen the therapeutic relationship. This research seeks to fill the knowledge gap in this constantly evolving field. To investigate mental health professionals' perceptions of using humour in the therapeutic relationship. A phenomenological interpretative approach was employed, following qualitative guidelines in healthcare. The study was conducted between November and December 2023. The target population consisted of mental health professionals working in acute units. A purposive sample of 10 participants was selected for the study. COREQ was used to organise individual interviews. Data collection included recorded interviews. The study had Ethics Committee approval and informed consent from participants. Data were analysed with ATLAS.Ti version 24. Ten professionals (5 women and 5 men), aged between 42 and 61 years with 20 to 35 years of experience in mental health, participated in the interviews. Data analysis yielded five main categories: barriers and benefits of using humour, professionals' humour styles, training in humour, and communication skills in the therapeutic relationship. An integrated understanding of humour in mental health and its impact on the therapeutic relationship is revealed. Barriers and benefits are highlighted, emphasising the need for specific training. The affiliative style is valued for its emotional connection, cautioning against other styles. The lack of training underlines the need to integrate humour into mental health training. The importance of adaptation and empathy in communicative interventions is emphasised, highlighting the need for greater awareness and training for a more humane and effective therapeutic environment.

Background/Objectives: Being a healthcare professional often involves exposure to complex situations that can contribute to the development of psychological problems. Evidence suggests that both mental and physical health are crucial for the well-being of these professionals, which in turn influences the quality of care they provide to patients. The main aim of this study was to examine the association between adaptive and maladaptive forms of humor and psychopathological disorders among healthcare workers. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive correlational design was employed. The participants consisted of 250 healthcare professionals at a general hospital. Humor styles and the presence of psychological and psychosomatic symptoms were assessed. Data were collected using the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), the Short Checklist of Symptoms (LSB-50), and sociodemographic information. Spearman correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were conducted. Results: Healthcare professionals were more inclined to use affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles compared to self-defeating and aggressive humor. Affiliative and self-enhancing humor styles were negatively correlated with psychological symptoms, whereas aggressive humor and, to a lesser extent, self-defeating humor styles showed a significantly positive correlation with most psychological symptoms. Regression analysis revealed that positive humor styles negatively predicted all severity indices of the LSB-50. In contrast, negative humor styles, particularly self-defeating humor, positively predicted the severity indices. Being female, working night shifts, and having temporary contracts were positive predictors of most global indices of the LSB-50. Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of considering different types of humor as a potential strategy for improving the mental health of healthcare professionals, as well as the influence of other independent variables related to their personal and work environment. Positive humor styles, specifically affiliative and self-enhancing humor, are associated with a lower prevalence of psychological symptoms among healthcare professionals. Negative humor styles are correlated with a higher prevalence of these symptoms.

Objetivo: conocer, en función de la literatura disponible, el significado del sentido del humor entre enfermeras y pacientes en el contexto de servicios de salud mental, así como determinar los factores que facilitan o dificultan el uso del sentido del humor en las unidades de salud mental.Métodos: se llevó a cabo una revisión narrativa en el periodo 2022-2023. Las búsquedas se realizaron en Pubmed, PsycINFO, LILACS y CINAHL, usando los descriptores: “Nurse-patient relations”, “mental health”, “wit and humor as topic”,