Not sure how to take a joke

Today my  therapist joked at me. I was talking to her about a previous obsession with the actress Kate Winslet and how unfortunately I could not study Winslet at University or I would have done this instead of my History degree. The therapist then said, 'oh, I am sure you can study her these days, there are courses that exist where you can study Winslet'. I thought this was a bit strange, but I believed what she said because I had no reason to believe she was not stating a fact. She did laugh as she said it, bit it was not obvious to me that this was a joke until she said, 'no, I was joking, you cannot study Winslet'.

I feel unsettled and anxious by the fact my therapist told a joke, and I don't know whether she was being nice or whether she was trying to test my reaction? She knows I am autistic, and in fact she specialises in autism.

Should I let her know that these sort of jokes irritate me? The problem is that I am not sure why it bothers me so much and I do not want to be seen as someone without a sense of humour, but I do not understand why people need to 'joke' like this - I did not think it was funny so what was the point?

Parents
  • Former Member
    Former Member

    A therapy session doesn't have to be deadly serious and businesslike all of the time. It may be that the therapist was trying to lighten the mood and help Hope relax. Clearly, and unfortunately, it didn't exactly pay off and I totally understand and sympathise for the awkwardness and discomfort caused to Hope.

    There are a number of things going on in a therapy session. A therapy session is a social interaction between two people. It should be a time when both parties can relax a bit and open up in a safe and comfortable environment. It should be safe to make mistakes and encounter and resolve misunderstandings and to learn ways of improving social communication and other skills. Some of the time it will only be possible to develop coping mechanisms as some things are too difiicult to master but I would suggest that allowing the therapist to tackle this difficulty in handling jokes might be a good subject to focus on rather than avoiding it altogether and declaring it off limits.

Reply
  • Former Member
    Former Member

    A therapy session doesn't have to be deadly serious and businesslike all of the time. It may be that the therapist was trying to lighten the mood and help Hope relax. Clearly, and unfortunately, it didn't exactly pay off and I totally understand and sympathise for the awkwardness and discomfort caused to Hope.

    There are a number of things going on in a therapy session. A therapy session is a social interaction between two people. It should be a time when both parties can relax a bit and open up in a safe and comfortable environment. It should be safe to make mistakes and encounter and resolve misunderstandings and to learn ways of improving social communication and other skills. Some of the time it will only be possible to develop coping mechanisms as some things are too difiicult to master but I would suggest that allowing the therapist to tackle this difficulty in handling jokes might be a good subject to focus on rather than avoiding it altogether and declaring it off limits.

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