Humour:

Robin Skynner:

"We need to stand back and find a little distance from our behavior, to take ourselves less seriously, if we are to learn and change for the better. And humour gives us that distance. It's like teasing. When you tease someone, you are often alluding to some part of their behavior which is problematic and which they need to look at. If it's done with real affection, the person concerned will often examine themselves afterwards, and change as a result of what they see."