A preliminary investigation into the use of humor in sport psychology practice

‘Creative efforts’, such as the use of humor, have been found to be beneficial to the nurse- patient (Nahas Lopez, 1998), teacher-student (Banas, Dunbar, Rodriguez, & Liu., 2011), and psychologist-patient alliance (Franzini, 2006). Potentially humor use might benefit the working alliance in applied sport psychology, yet to date there is limited research. Sport psychology consultants (n = 55) completed an online survey that explored humor use within their practice. Statistical analyses revealed most participants used humor for adaptive purposes such as to facilitate the working alliance, reinforce knowledge, and create healthy learning environments. Therefore, possible client change is likely to be facilitated by practitioners’ personal qualities and skills such as humor use and humor style. Recommendations are made for sport psychology practitioners in relation to humor use and further research.