diff --git a/kubernetes/client/rest.py b/kubernetes/client/rest.py
index 65fbe95..e174317 100644
--- a/kubernetes/client/rest.py
+++ b/kubernetes/client/rest.py
@@ -152,6 +152,10 @@ class RESTClientObject(object):
                 if query_params:
                     url += '?' + urlencode(query_params)
                 if re.search('json', headers['Content-Type'], re.IGNORECASE):
+                    if headers['Content-Type'] == 'application/json-patch+json':
+                        if not isinstance(body, list):
+                            headers['Content-Type'] = \
+                                'application/strategic-merge-patch+json'
                     request_body = None
                     if body is not None:
                         request_body = json.dumps(body)
