Humor Skills Training and Reducing Depression in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury

the effectiveness of humor skills training in reducing depression in people with spinal cord injury was examined. From two rehabilitation centers in Tehran, 24 clients (12 females and 12 males) with spinal cord injury, who scored higher than ave- rage on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck & Steer, 1987), were randomly assigned to an experimantal and a control gro- up (12 persons in each group). In two months, only the experimental group received eight sessions of houmor skills training ins- pired by the McGhee’s 8-Step Humor Skills Training program (2002). The BDI was again administrated to both groups. Findings showed that depression in the experimental group was reduced as compared to the control group. Implications are discussed in terms of alleviating depression in patients with spinal cord injuries.