In this summary, the author discusses the main features of the successful use of humour in the treatment of the aged. For example, humour is communicated to others in a group (group treatment is most effective in the elderly because it touches on the need for belonging); the communication occurs at the latent level; the themes deal with anxieties that we all keep hidden. When people laugh together at e.g. senility, illness, & death that which is feared becomes less frightening. (GW)