[Sense of humour in schizophrenia--ability of humour reception and possibilities of its application in therapeutic interventions].

The existing research on sense of humour in schizophrenia is focused on two main areas, mainly, assessment of patients' abilities to understand and appreciate humour and denoting the possibilities of its application in therapeutic programs concentrating on the improvement of patients' functionality and preventing illness relapses. The vast majority of the conclusions from the above mentioned research corroborate the opinion on the usefulness of developing and reinforcing sense of humour in schizophrenia, emphasizing its beneficial effect on the patients' quality of life, above all, in terms of reducing aggression, anxiety and depression as well as improving general life satisfaction and social functioning. At the same time numerous research indicate low reception of humour in schizophrenia which can negatively influence its effective usage in therapeutic interventions. Further constraint with regard to the therapy can constitute an intensified fear for being laughed at, which has been confirmed in numerous empirical reports. Therefore, it seems that addressing humorous therapeutic interventions to the above mentioned group of patients requires especially careful planning taking into consideration its cognitive and affective limitations in the perception of humour and intensified fear for being laughed at.