Int J Adv Counselling (2013) 35:57–63

DOI 10.1007/s10447-012-9165-5

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The Use of Humor and Storytelling with African

American Men: Innovative Therapeutic Strategies
for Success in Counseling

Linwood G. Vereen & Nicole R. Hill & S. Kent Butler

Published online: 17 August 2012

# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

Abstract In recent years, the use of culturally appropriate humor as a tool for change within
the parameters of counseling has grown within the literature. In comparison, the art of
storytelling has had little attention within the literature as a tool for strategic change. This
article outlines a framework for the use of humor and storytelling as innovative approaches for
successfully counseling African American men. In addition, the growing research on the
socialization of men is used to assist in the development of culturally appropriate strategies
that help African American men utilize their inherent strengths within the counseling process.

Keywords African-American men . Culturally appropriate intervention

strategies . Humor . Storytelling

Introduction

For the African American male, the stressors of life have historically been rooted in racism,
discrimination, and a negative view of themselves as contributing members of society
(Constantine et al. 2000; Johnson 2006; Smith 2003). As these notions are grounded in
historical fact, counselors are challenged to develop interventions that will assist this
population in the development of healthy coping strategies in the face of adverse conditions.
Of practical importance to the experience of the African American male is the reality that the
counseling profession is only just beginning to understand who he is and how best to be
helpful to him within the therapeutic environment. An increased understanding of men, and
more importantly, the knowledge and awareness of how socialization and masculine identity
influence them is warranted (Englar-Carlson and Shepard 2005; Liu 2002).

L. G. Vereen (*) : N. R. Hill

Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA
e-mail: verelinw@isu.edu

S. K. Butler
University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
58 Int J Adv Counselling (2013) 35:57–63

Counseling professionals must reflect on a number of critical questions in the exploration of

articulating how best to be helpful to a population that has historically been distrustful of the
therapeutic offerings of counseling. Among those reflective questions are: 1) do counselors
provide services that simultaneously address the culturally-specific and universal themes that
are relevant for the African American male, and 2) what efforts are counselors taking to expand
their working knowledge of the past and present realities of existence for the African American
male as a client in counseling. At this point, the field of counseling is still evolving in terms of
how we systematically respond to such potent questions.
Similarly, the counseling field has yet to develop a framework to integrate innovative and
creative strategies into therapeutic encounters with African American men. Given the
historical and present realities of the African American male experience, it is critical that
interventions build upon the natural healing processes of the past while honoring the
demands of the present. Both humor and storytelling have cultural roots in the past for
African American clients. Integrating humor and storytelling into our work as counselors
provides a method for attending to the unique issues encountered by this population and a
means to face the challenges of their daily existence. The purpose of this article is to
articulate the ways in which the use of humor and the art of storytelling can enhance the
therapeutic environment for male clients who are of African American descent.
The use of humor in counseling has already been touted in the literature (cf., Maples et al.
2001; Robinson and Smith-Lovin 2001) as a means of helping clients navigate the challenges
and stressors of life and as an invitation to share intimate parts of their lives (Wilde and
Parmanand 2008). Whether it is in individual counseling, couple or family counseling, or
within group counseling, humor has its place as a tool to help reframe the meaning and value of
life for the client. For example, Robinson and Smith-Lovin state that humor in counseling can
dissipate tension for some and in other situations serve as a mechanism to build cohesion.
The ability to laugh and find humor in our daily lives is essential to our existence as humans,
as it can influence the feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and physiology of the individual (Robinson
and Smith-Lovin 2001; Vereen et al. 2006). As the use of humor can influence the essence of
the client as a human, it stands to reason that the counselor who effectively uses this tool within
the therapeutic environment can assist the African American male in resolving issues of conflict
and stress, and can encourage him to strive towards better overall mental health. In addition to
the inherent value that humor can play in the life of the individual, the art of storytelling is
another medium often used within the African American culture to help articulate history and
meaning in life (Robinson 2005). The client, as storyteller, harnesses such a cultural practice
that provides a context for understanding the worldview of the storyteller.
The art of storytelling has deep roots within the African American culture. For centuries,
peoples of African descent have mastered and used this art to share thoughts and dreams,
outline a context to explore history, and impart knowledge to the listener. Robinson (2005)
highlights the use of storytelling within the African American culture as a metaphor for the trials
and tribulations of daily life. Robinson shared examples of how storytelling was used as a
means to illustrate sociopolitical awareness of racial and ethnic inequality as well as to provide a
context for conceptualizing the world-at-large. When applied to counseling, storytelling facil-
itates the communication by the client about experience in a language that is comfortable and
familiar. By relying on therapeutic metaphor, the storytelling also allows the counselor to better
understand the context of the client and the cultural significance of the issues that are shared.
When counseling African American males, contextual understanding is critical because it
optimizes the counselor’s ability to be effective. Understanding the experience of African
American males can help culturally attuned counselors contextualize how to appropriately
utilize creative interventions, such as humor and storytelling, in therapeutic encounters.
Int J Adv Counselling (2013) 35:57–63 59

The African American Male

According to Johnson (2006), the view of African American men is impacted by individual
and societal views of them as humans and cultural beings. Johnson articulates that society
has provided African American men with a number of labels that have served to dehumanize
them and set them outside of the logical descriptive norms of society. For example, the
African American male has a confusing and multifaceted existence due to the spectrum of
current perceptions of him ranging from actor, athlete, entertainer, entrepreneur, musician, to
inmate, absent father, and criminal.
What is not fully understood about African American men is the balance that they must
develop to move successfully between what Diemer (2007) observed as Black and White
worlds. With that said, it stands to reason that the counseling profession is still progressing in
its understanding of how to provide services that address both the culturally-specific and
universal themes relevant for today’s African American male. With this thought in mind, it
remains no small wonder that many African American men choose not to seek the
Eurocentric framework of counseling to address the challenges and stressors prevalent
within their daily lives (Constantine et al. 2007; Smith 2003).
In an effort to articulate the challenge of the African American, Diemer (2007) qualita-
tively investigated the struggle that persons of African descent encounter while navigating
White dominated educational and occupational systems. In particular, Diemer shed light on
the challenges African American men face in order to remain connected to their culture of
origin, while at the same time participate actively in a society that culturally is not their own.
This phenomenon presents a factor that counselors need to gain awareness of to help clients
who may indeed struggle to maintain such a dual existence.
Diemer found that “emotional, intellectual, and interpersonal skill” (pp. 7–8) are salient
traits required by African American males as they negotiate barriers represented by both
Eurocentric and Afrocentric worldviews. Diemer articulated that the development of bicul-
tural skill and balance was needed to navigate the shift between these two entities. The
author found that struggles occurred for individuals who were less adept at maintaining
equilibrium of both worlds. The person who could not maintain a sense of balance risked
either the loss of connection to their culture of origin, or from the occupational world that
was essential to survival.
Robinson (2005) highlighted the value of education as a means of enhancing opportunity,
self-help, and survival for the African American within the context of functioning in White
society. To remove the opportunities such as education, which serves to level the playing field for
many African Americans, is to risk a loss of sense of self, identity and internal pride. Counseling,
to be successful, must simultaneously honor the individual’s experience and foster strategies for
African American males to navigate their dual existence. Encouraging a sense of pride, esteem,
and sense of self is culturally relevant because it enhances resiliency and integration.
For counselors to encourage resiliency, esteem, and identity development with their
African American male clients, they need to use strategies that explore the impact of
socialization and build on individual strengths (Englar-Carlson and Shepard 2005). Goals
inherent to the counseling and help-seeking process include assisting clients to understand
and navigate the socialization of masculine identity, as it often inhibits the quest for
wellness. According to Englar-Carlson and Shepard, it is imperative that the counselor gain
an awareness of how the socialization of men is grounded in their historical, social, and
cultural roots. This awareness can then lead to the inclusion of humor and storytelling as
historically, socially and culturally sensitive and innovative counseling strategies utilized to
inspire change.
60 Int J Adv Counselling (2013) 35:57–63

The Tenets of Humor

While humor, by definition, is employed to evoke positive affective experiences, its potential
negative impact cannot be underestimated. As was previously noted, humor cannot be used
effectively without an understanding of the cultural background of those with whom the
humor is being shared. Research has shown that humor is primarily an in-group phenom-
enon (Lee and Lim 2008), meaning that one cultural group may not fully appreciate the
humor of another, thus, understanding cultural meaning is critical for humor to be successful
within the counseling process.
Maples et al. (2001) espoused the idea of counselors, counselor educators, and super-
visors gaining and cultivating an awareness of the existing cultural norms and rituals of
humor to help the client develop an alternative view of self. Included in the ideal brought
forth by Maples et al. (2001) was the caveat for counselors to gauge the culturally
appropriate use of humor within the therapeutic environment. To do so, the counselor must
first learn about the client, his view of the world, and how he feels that society views him as
an individual and as member of a cultural group. In sum, the counselor must be aware of
these and other basic tenets of humor and how they apply to the therapeutic environment.
The literature (cf., Lee and Lim 2008; Maples et al. 2001; Wilde and Parmanand 2008) on the
use of humor articulates the need to be cognizant of its value and importance within the process of
human interaction. For example, Wilde and Parmanand present the idea that the use of humor in
counseling largely parallels self-disclosure. They state that the counselor must assess if it is in the
best interest of the therapeutic alliance to use humor in a session. The counselor must reflect and
ensure that humor is being used as a learning tool and not as a means of deflection or defense.
In addition, the literature (cf., Robinson 2005; Maples et al. 2001; Vereen et al. 2006)
also reveals that timing is a critical variable in the use of humor. If humor is used at an
inappropriate time, the client could experience the counselor as offensive, alienating, or
insensitive. The use of ill-timed humor engenders the risk of distancing the client even
though the intent might be to build the therapeutic alliance. The concept of the appropriate
use of humor with the African American male calls for a number of considerations on the
part of the counselor when learning how to effectively use this method of rapport building
and intervention. The first consideration would be for the counselor to explore the cultural
milieu of the African American male. A second consideration would be for the counselor to
explore the social and cultural rituals of humor within the context and worldview of the
African American male as a cultural being. The idea that humor can be used as a means to
build cohesion between the counselor and the African American male, in addition to
dissipating the tension that may arise within the counseling environment, should invoke
further exploration of this social phenomena (Robinson and Smith-Lovin 2001).

The Art of Storytelling

At its core, storytelling has long served as a way to articulate what is, and how our present
realities have come to be (Robinson 2005). Storytelling is a way to provide context and
insight for the listener. In addition, storytelling is a way to express the meaning and critical
nuances of the experience of an individual or a group (Robinson). Within the context of the
counseling environment, storytelling can help both the counselor and African American
male gain a sense of clarity about the client’s experience. The counselor may also be
afforded the opportunity to better contextualize the worldview of the client through the
metaphor and reality of the story.
Int J Adv Counselling (2013) 35:57–63 61

Central to the therapeutic dyad is both the universality and uniqueness of experience for
each participant (Maples et al. 2001; Vereen et al. 2009). The therapeutic potential of
storytelling can channel this bimodal commitment to the client’s universal and unique
experiences in that it can serve to aid both counselor and client in grasping the meaning,
within the realm of counseling, of these salient constructs. By encouraging the client to
engage in storytelling, the counselor may become more informed about the client’s social,
historical, and cultural perspectives. This is a critical element for providing culturally
relevant and competent counseling to African American males. From the client’s perspec-
tive, the process of engaging in such a therapeutic experience may decrease initial feelings of
apprehension and distrust. Storytelling, as a communication tool of the client fostered by the
counselor, extends the therapeutic benefit inherent in having the client share something
personally meaningful in sessions.
Given the impact of socialization on male clients who are African American, storytelling
may serve as a non-threatening process that fosters catharsis and encourages the sharing of
feelings and vulnerabilities, an experience typically hindered by past socialization experi-
ences (Englar-Carlson and Shepard 2005). The art of storytelling is especially relevant as an
innovative counseling strategy for African American male clients because of its deep roots in
African American culture as a metaphor for the human and group experience (Robinson
2005). Integrating storytelling into counseling has the potential to celebrate a strength and
skill already present within the client and to provide a framework for developing an
increased understanding of self and pride in one’s cultural identity.

Recommendations for the Use of Humor and Storytelling in Counseling

The counselor must be able to conceptualize the African American male and contextualize
his experience through the lens of his past socializations, current experiences and future
orientations (Englar-Carlson and Shepard 2005). Specifically, the counselor must be aware
of the roles that the historical, social, and cultural context of the African American male
holds for him and his worldview. Englar-Carlson and Shepard point out that in the quest to
be helpful, the counselor needs to explore the discrepancy of meaning that exists for men
between their past socialization and their present challenges and how those messages
conflict with current ideals towards help-seeking and participating in the counseling process.
For example, Englar-Carlson and Shepard point out that males are socialized to be “tough,
self-sufficient…Yet in the popular perception of counseling, clients are expected to present
their concerns, share feelings, and expose vulnerabilities” (p. 385). Engaging African
American male clients from the context of culturally appropriate humor and storytelling
can challenge them to move beyond socialized expectations and to share meaningful facets
of their experience and the significant meaning that results from their life experiences.
Vereen et al. (2009) espouse that when invoking the use of humor or storytelling, the
counselor must be aware of both the internal and external considerations inherent to these
processes. In addition, the counselor must refrain from using labels that might hinder the
counseling process. The use of humor begins with the initiation by one individual
(counselor) and is received by the other (client), and it can be said that humor in counseling
occurs as both an internal and external process. Culturally appropriate use of humor and
storytelling require counselors to be present, focused, and aware of the interpersonal nature
of the exchange between counselor and client. The use of humor or storytelling should be
valued and explored for its ability to expand the intrapersonal and interpersonal context for
the African American male. These constructs can be utilized within the context of an early
62 Int J Adv Counselling (2013) 35:57–63

assessment to explore for signs of what Englar-Carlson and Shepard (2005) refer to as
traditional masculine beliefs.
The criticality of attending to internal and external considerations is amplified when there
is a cross-cultural relationship in counseling. Counselors who are women or from a racial
group other than African American men must recognize the historical context of the use of
humor and storytelling. For clients, these communication strategies can be deeply rooted in
their cultural sense of self. Therefore, counselors who are perceived as “different from” may
be more likely to unintentionally perpetuate power differentials or exacerbate feelings of
disconnect when attempting to integrate humor and storytelling into counseling. As is true
for all counseling interventions, counselors must recognize the cultural context of the
therapeutic alliance and make clinical decisions on how best to meet the needs of their
clients without damaging the relationship or the client directly. The inability of the counselor
to attend to cross-cultural considerations can engender feelings of isolation and mistrust
within the relationship and evoke ambiguity about counseling as a helping process.

Implications for Research

Areas of future research could include a qualitative inquiry that further allows for the voices
of the counselor and the African American man in counseling to be heard. Such an inquiry
would provide counseling professionals with viable ways to integrate culturally appropriate
humor and storytelling into the therapeutic relationship. Future research that entails quanti-
tative inquiry should include assessment tools that are culturally sensitive and are evaluative
of the use of humor and storytelling. These facets would be critical to the process of
determining best practices for African American male clients.
The use of the aforementioned techniques cannot be fully realized without counselors
being culturally sensitive, knowledgeable, and skillful in their delivery. In turn, increased
attention by counselors may lead to the development of more effective assessments and
therapeutic interventions. Counselor education curriculums may also benefit not only
neophyte counselors but the counseling community as a whole as it provides insight into
the psyche of African American males and the worldview of a culture of people often
alienated by the counseling profession.

Conclusion

In history, African Americans, males especially, have been marginally represented in research
queries that focus on the improvement of the therapeutic relationship and the instillation of
culturally appropriate counseling techniques. African American males have been faced with
dehumanization and cast as outsiders in a world promised to be free and equitable to all.
Counselors working with African American males would be best served to acknowledge that
the therapeutic relationship would benefit from them understanding the nuances of African
American life and culture. To this end, counselors working with African American males must
be willing to examine and embrace their own attitudes, biases, values, and beliefs as they relate
to this particular clientele. To embark upon this process, culturally attuned counselors must also
be prepared to re-evaluate and adapt their counseling practice and belief systems, and in this
regard they could do well to embrace and understand the significance of humor and storytelling
as plausible therapeutic interventions and strategies intended to be utilized as tools to further
improve the lives of their African American male clients.
Int J Adv Counselling (2013) 35:57–63 63

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