Kermit Cole has had an active interest in humor since an early age, noticing that it arose, even and perhaps especially, in the hardest of times. This led to a lifelong interest in the connection between humor and wisdom. During his first career (in film and television), Kermit explored this interest in “Before Comedy,” about the discovery of comedy by prehistoric clowns, and in “Living Proof: HIV and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Exploring how we face fear with laughter from these two divergent perspectives, Kermit was drawn to working more deeply with people in extreme crisis. He earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Harvard, focusing on Psychology and Philosophy, and a post-graduate certificate in Marriage & Family Therapy from the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia. Throughout, Kermit noticed that laughter was not simply a release of tension, or a distraction, but seemed to arise at pivotal moments of potential or actual change.

Working with people in extreme states of trauma and psychosis (and their families) for 20 years, Kermit made humor an integral part of his practice; from eliciting and developing a connection to difficult-to-reach people, to exploring laughter when it arose naturally. Today, Kermit has developed his own theory of why laughter arises – and how to use it – at critical moments of healing… and of being human.

Having spent 20 years looking into the research on humor and laughter, Kermit has been presenting his theories about using humor with confidence, precision, power and safety at psychology, philosophy and humor conferences around the world.