How is photography therapeutic

Close Search. Like this: Like Loading Loading Comments Email Required Name Required Website. The idea of using photography as a medium for expressing feeling is the thinking behind of a new initiative supported by some of the UK's leading photographers. Its aim is to challenge young people between the ages of to consider the emotion behind making an image - before snapping their own photographic representation of how they are feeling. The resulting photograph can then be submitted for consideration as part of a national exhibition scheduled for Via workshopping and 'mind-mapping,' the Show and Tell project is also inviting young people to discuss the meanings behind images, as well as offering advice and guidance for creating their own with the help of renowned photographers from a range of fields.

The thinking is that through 'therapeutic photography' young people can help ease stress and anxiety whilst boosting their ability to express emotion and develop visual literacy.

Related: How to take at-home photos like a NatGeo photographer. Also lending support are photographers Emma Hardy , Francis Augusto , Daniel Regan and Rankin - all of whom have created bespoke tutorials for the campaign, which is encouraging schools to integrate the workshops into classroom and in-school activity programs. Using Photography as Therapy Using Photography as Therapy Photography is an accessible means of communications, for people to share their thoughts, viewpoints, frustrations and joys.

Here are some helpful links for you or your group to get inspired or started on your own photo project: Photovoice: UK-based organisation that uses photography as a tool for change and empowerment for disadvantaged and marginalised communities. Some examples of some other projects that used photography to raise awareness for mental illness: Working with the whole picture Faces of mental illness Live alone a life. Since the focus of these experiences is to increase selfawareness and self-expression, this process must be facilitated by a trained professional.

Hence, psychologists, mental health, social, and educational professionals are involved and they are often supported by a photographer. However, we find important to comment on the fact that a great variety of professionals lead these interventions, leaving unclear what are the requirements and the trainings necessary to conduct clinical work. Summarizing, the utilization of the photographic stimulus has been consistently associated with improvements of emotional, cognitive, and expressive abilities at the individual, group, or community level.

Empirical evidence confirms how images can activate and facilitate the communication of thoughts and emotions without the limitation of verbal language, which then contributes to overcome challenges or difficulties some individuals may experience Uhrig et al. However, the most relevant finding from this work is that the use of photographs in psychosocial settings cannot be clearly linked to a single model, rather a variety of instruments and techniques have been applied in the current literature.

Some limitations affect the present work. First, the current review is only partially able to address the complexity of some issues still open within the scientific debate. Furthermore, it is possible that some other interventions were not included because authors used different keywords to describe their work, or because of the terminology used to disseminate their experience.

Also, articles published in different venues may have been excluded. So, despite its increasing use as an intervention methodology, not many scientific papers concerning the clinical and therapeutic use of photography are currently present in the literature.

Given these limitations, this literature review has contributed to clarify emerging issues at the core of the contemporary debate about this topic, making a distinction between the ideal rules and the actual and current use of photography in psychosocial settings. The application of photographs is based on the idea that visual media facilitate the access to symbols and unconscious materials Kopytin, ; Weiser, b.

The authors would like to thank Prof. Chiara Acquati for her comments and feedback on the earlier versions of this manuscript. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Res Psychother v. Res Psychother. Published online Apr Emanuela Saita and Martina Tramontano. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer.

Gemelli 1, Milano, , Italy. Conflict of interest: the authors declare no potential conflict of interest. Saita, Abstract In contrast with the recent increase in the use of photography as a therapeutic tool in psychological settings, lack of clarity exists regarding this intervention modality. Key words: Literature review, Phototherapy, Therapeutic photography, Photo art therapy, Psychosocial settings. Introduction The application of photographs in clinical and therapeutic contexts has grown significantly in recent years Loewenthal, Open in a separate window.

Figure 1. Results Qualitative synthesis of the articles The two authors, at first independently, have classified the articles included in the literature review, then the discrepancies were discussed to reach an agreement; a third investigator resolved discrepancies identified when the two coders did not agree about the classification of the studies in the categories examined.

Table 1. The focus group and interview questions sought to explore both the overall experience of learning through using photography to explore values, as well as the specific learning related to values, culture and diversity in mental health practice. Health Photovoice Photo Therapy and Photo Art Therapy Psychologist Barbee To create the visual and verbal gender stories of a transsexual group for providing a method of work with this kind of clients who does not pathologize their experience.

Contexts of application Three are the main contexts where the articles included in the review have been applied: health settings 9 articles , clinical settings 6 articles , and social and community settings 6 articles.

Health settings Articles belonging to this first category included both preventive and therapeutic experiences, which focused on cognitive and emotional well-being. Clinical settings The second context is exemplified by clinical settings, which represent the application of photography in the therapeutic experience of individuals affected by mental disorders.

Social and community settings Finally, social and community goals — social and community goals indicate function of photographic method to improve condition within context that had positive social ripercussions.

The photographic methods The photographic methods used in the articles included can be summarized in Photovoice 6 articles , Photographic Self-Portrait 4 articles , and Photo Presentation 11 articles of which 3 were photo-projectives.

Photovoice Photovoice is a method aimed at identifying the needs of a community or social group and motivating social change. Self-portrait Self-portrait has a longstanding and complex origin, as the myths of Narcissus and Dionysus already exemplified the need of men to represent themselves. Photo-presentation Eleven articles use this method and they are characterized by great heterogeneity.

Intervention models As mentioned earlier, three are the theoretical models of intervention identified in the literature: Photo Therapy, Therapeutic Photography, and Photo Art Therapy. Table 2. Photos which have been taken or created by clients 2. Photos which have been taken of clients by other people 3. The professional figure delivering the intervention Finally, the identity of the professionals delivering these types of programs was investigated. Discussion The application of photographic techniques for therapeutic and clinical purposes has been growing significantly in recent years Loewenthal, , and the contributions included in this review offer the opportunity to make interesting considerations about the current application of this method in psychosocial settings.

Conclusions Summarizing, the utilization of the photographic stimulus has been consistently associated with improvements of emotional, cognitive, and expressive abilities at the individual, group, or community level.

Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Prof. Funding Statement Funding: none. References American Art Therapy Association About art therapy. Available from: arttherapy. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing , 22 , Dementia , 5 , A visual-narrative approach to understanding transsexual identity. In the Frame: Photovoice and mothers with learning difficulties.

The use of photographs and family albums in family therapy. Gurman A. The therapeutic use of photography in clinical social work: Evidence-based best practices. Social Work in Mental Health , 12 , Frontiers Psychology , 7 , doi: Qualitative Health Research , 17 , The use of phototherapy in group treatment for persons who are chemically dependent. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin , 49 , Frontiers in Psychology , 4 , doi: A photograph as a therapeutic experience.

Lowenthal D. New York, NY: Routledge. Photography as a measure of constricted construing the experience of depression through a camera. Journal of Constructivist Psychology , 20 , Phototherapy and neuroscience: Marriage, cohabitation or divorce. Loewenthal D. Phototherapy and therapeutic photography in a digital age pp.