Therapeutic Photography Research Articles

Efficacy of Therapeutic Photography for Resolving Symptom Coherence in Prolonged Grief

Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) is a complex and debilitating condition that arises from the inability to adapt to the loss of a significant individual. Symptom coherence, meaning-making, and emotional processing are key symptom domains for individuals experiencing prolonged grief. The integration of photographic interventions within grief counseling practices offers a unique and powerful tool for emotional expression, emotional processing, and overall grief management. This literature review aims to synthesize current research on the efficacy of this innovative approach, primarily focusing on how photographic interventions impact symptom coherency, psychological healing mechanisms, and psychological healing.

Discharbing Phobia and Panic Disorders through Therapeutic Photography: Towards Righting Undergraduates Emotions for Performance in FCE, Kontagora.

This study on “Discharging Phobia and Panic Disorders through Therapeutic Photography: Towards Righting Undergraduates Emotions for Performance in FCE, Kontagora” deals with utilization of photographic skills for emotional expression and processing in therapeutic setting. The study adopted Mixed Method design with qualitative and Art-Based methods adopting interview, observation and focus group, while quantitative design adopted quasi-experimental study, with 2×2 factorial design with pretest-posttest non-randomized control group design. Four research questions and four hypotheses were formulated for the study, which 11 students were sampled, using nonprobability sampling technique of convenience sampling, while 14 students who also failed the Instructional Technology test, but did not accept the phototherapy voluntarily, as a way of helping them release emotional struggles were used as control group. Paired and Independent t-test were used to analyse the data, while Levene’s test for equality of variance was adopted to determine the degree of freedom at 0.5 degree. The research questions answered showed a significant difference between pretest and post-test scores among participants, but females were seen to have a high degree of emotional responses – discharging phobia and panic disorders. The stated hypotheses did not recognise significant differences in both emotions and academic performances; thus, the study recommends, among others that photographic component of Educational Resource Centers of tertiary institutions should be expanded to also cater for therapeutic interactions for students.

Images from Exile

This roundtable discussion brings together the teams of two online participatory photography projects with exiled victims of the Colombian conflict, Tejiendo Vidas [Weaving Lives] in Spain and Fotodiásporas [Diaspora Photos] in the USA. Both projects were linked, in distinct ways, to the Colombian state’s efforts to provide recognition and reparations to victims of the country’s armed conflict as part of wider transitional justice and peacebuilding processes underway since the signing of the historic Colombian peace accord in 2016. The participants in these projects were some of the estimated one million people who have left Colombia as a result of the armed conflict between 1982 and 2020. They used photography as a means to process and make sense of their experiences, to heal through building connection and dialogue and to be seen. Bringing together the multi-disciplinary teams made up of photographic facilitators, psychotherapists and transitional justice researchers who ran these two projects, this roundtable discusses the responsive methods, logistics and dynamics of virtual and hybrid projects that fused participatory and therapeutic photography approaches. Reflecting on the outcomes, similarities and differences between the two projects, the conversation explores, in a context where economic and material reparations are slow to emerge, the role that participatory photography projects have to play in enabling symbolic reparations for Colombians whose lives have been permanently changed by conflict.

Implementing the framed portrait experience with Italian breast cancer survivors: a pilot study assessing short term effects of an existential approach to body image, coping skills, and self-efficacy

PurposeBreast cancer (BC) and its treatments significantly impact the psychological wellbeing of women. Interventions offered during cancer survivorship have documented positive consequences for quality of life. However, limited evidence is available regarding the implementation of therapeutic photography. This study investigated the efficacy of the framed portrait experience (FPE) when implemented to BC survivors.MethodsA quasi-experimental study was conducted. Participants were enrolled in a non-randomized pre-post intervention with a comparison group. Forty BC survivors were recruited using a convenience sampling approach; of these, 20 were subsequently allocated to the intervention (FPE group) and 20 to the comparison group. Participants were assessed at pretest and posttest (3 weeks later) using self-reported measures of body image, coping, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Independent samples t-tests compared group composition at pretest. Mixed between-within 2 × 2 repeated-measures ANOVAs examined pretest–posttest changes in the variables of interest.ResultsNo differences were detected between groups at pretest. A significant interaction effect on body image, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, and in self-efficacy competence subscale (p < 0.05) was identified. Post hoc pairwise comparisons with the Bonferroni correction indicated improvement on these domains in the FPE group vs. comparison group. Additionally, significant main effects of time on self-efficacy total score and magnitude subscale (p < 0.05) were found.ConclusionsPreliminary results support the efficacy of FPE, but further research is needed.Implications for Cancer SurvivorsExistential approaches inclusive of self-portraits and illness narratives can be utilized to support BC survivors in the management of the psychological consequences of the illness.

Using Therapeutic Photography in Social Work—An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of the Dynamics within a Group Programme

Abstract Therapeutic photography is the practice of using photography in order to explore issues and reach defined outcomes with people who use services. It has been deemed to be an accessible tool which can have a positive impact on self-esteem, self-efficacy and empowerment. Using interpretive phenomenological analysis, this research analyses observations and focus group feedback from a group of participants receiving support from a third-sector organisation for mental health issues. Specifically, the data were analysed to look at how a therapeutic photography programme contributed to group dynamics, exploration and outcomes. Three inter-related super-ordinate themes were identified, these being (1) exposing the self; (2) searching; and (3) developing the self. These themes centred around the identity of the participants as they explored their photographs and associated narratives. The results suggest that the medium of photography contributes to enhanced self-disclosure and social bonding through the familiarity of engaging with photographs. The photographs also enable participants to feel in control of the information shared, facilitating the level of exploration and personal learning around identity and roles and could be beneficial in social work with groups where these outcomes are sought.

An internet-based photography therapy intervention into the grief of persons who have lost a loved one

ABSTRACT Persons who have lost a loved one by death are increasingly searching for support from online peer groups to process their grief. One approach involves sharing photographs with peers online. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a four-week internet-based photography therapy intervention concerning participants’ grief reactions using the Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist (HGRC). Another aim was to assess the role of the moderator and describe development targets in the internet-based photography therapy group based on the participants’ experiences. The participants were individuals who had lost a loved one divided into an intervention group (n = 101) and a comparison group (n = 55). The changes in the dimensions of grief of the intervention group members were slightly greater than in the comparison group. The dimension of panic behaviour declined statistically significantly more in the intervention than in the comparison group during the follow-up period. While the participants from the intervention group valued the expertise of the moderator, the moderator’s role could have been more visible. The participants also wished that the therapeutic photography group would have included more active involvement. Additionally, the participants made suggestions on modifying intervention content and developing a platform better suited for sharing photographs.

Photography as a Practical Psychologist's Tool

The article compares approaches to using photography as a tool of a practical psychologist: phototherapy; therapeutic photography; photo-art-therapy; creative self-expression therapy. The main techniques that use photography for psychological help are described, the psychological functions of photography are indicated. The article describes the method of phototherapy in the framework of a psychological project «PhotoProYavlenie» («Photo as manifestation»).

Navigating the complexity of the therapeutic and clinical use of photography in psychosocial settings: a review of the literature.

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. While the distinction among Photo Therapy, Therapeutic Photography, and Photo Art Therapy is theoretically established we examined whether this classification is confirmed also in practice. Electronic databases (PsychINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE, and Social Sciences s-EBSCO) were systematically searched for studies published in the last fifteen years utilizing photographic techniques as the elective method of intervention. A total of 124 articles were identified, of which 21 met the inclusion criteria. Results indicate that photography has been used in health, clinical, social, and community settings. Photovoice, Photographic Self-Portrait, and Photo Presentation are the methods most commonly implemented. Several contributions could be placed in more than one of the above-mentioned models of intervention; suggesting that the criteria to assign articles to each model are difficult to apply when the models are put into practice.

Therapeutic photography as a form of re-signification of the body with mastectomy

El artículo examina el potencial de la fotografía terapéutica como una herramienta que cuestiona discursos dominantes sobre la mujer mastectomizada. Para ello, se analiza la propuesta visual de la organización The SCAR Project, la cual re-significa la imagen que tienen de su cuerpo las pacientes y promueve un diálogo colectivo sobre el cáncer de mama como un asunto social en lugar de definirlo como una experiencia privada. Se realizó un análisis cualitativo de 14 fotografías que permitió la construcción de cuatro categorías a partir de un análisis de narrativas visuales: Los senos como centro de la subjetividad femenina y arma política, de heroínas invencibles a sujetos vulnerables, un cuerpo en comunión con otros cuerpos, y un cuerpo con múltiples identidades. El análisis de los resultados permitió identificar tres potenciales beneficios de la fotografía terapéutica: primero, el arte como forma de comunicación de las subjetividades; segundo, el potencial de la fotografía terapéutica para hacer de la mastectomía una experiencia política; y tercero, la emergencia de nuevas representaciones que recrean las identidades de la mujer mastectomizada.

Therapeutic photography: enhancing patient communication

Using photography with patients to help them express concerns, investigate coping strategies and learn from their peers is known as therapeutic photography. The practice has benefits to both professionals and participants, particularly with ‘hard to reach’ populations who may feel intimidated or disempowered. Neil Gibson explains how this intervention can be structured in the health setting.

Establishing the Framework for Using Photos in Art Therapy (and other Therapies) Practices

What is PhotoTherapy and how does it differ from Photography? Is Photo- Therapy simply Therapy using photos, or something different? And what, then is Photo-Art-Therapy? Is all this confusing? Yes! And in this Article written specifically for an Art Therapy Journal readership, I hope to provide a useful framework for positioning each of these in terms of their relationship to the others, and clarify their similarities and differences, including the areas where they overlap -- and explain the criteria used for distinguishing between them. I will explain the Continuum of Photo-based Therapy Practices (with PhotoTherapy at one end, and Therapeutic Photography at the other) that is in common use around the world for positioning one's practice so that others will be able to easily understand what it is. I will then locate the sub-category of Photo-Art-Therapy from within this context. I will then illustrate with real-life examples how I (both a U.S. Registered Art Therapist and Canadian Registered Psychologist) have used my knowledge of Art Therapy theory and practice to enhance the potential effectiveness of my PhotoTherapy work during therapy sessions with clients -- in ways that therapists and other mental health professionals who have not been educated about Art Therapy would be unable to do (or understand). By the end of this Article, I hope that readers will recognize that, whether an Art Therapist works from the art-during-therapy (Art Psychotherapy) model of practice or the art-as-the-therapy-itself (Therapeutic Art Activities) model, they can benefit from adding PhotoTherapy techniques to their repertoire of adjunctive interventions: using their clients' own personal snapshots and family photographs (and their interactions with these) to evoke feelings, thoughts, and memories -- and related values, beliefs, attitudes, and expectations) in ways not possible when using other art media (or words) alone. After the definitions have been clarified and examples illustrated, the final Section of this Article will provide readers with information about many current practitioners in Spain (and how to contact them), who have long been using photos during their therapy work or as therapeutic/healing activities for self or others. Some are Art Therapists and some are not --and their differences will clearly illustrate the flexibility of the beneficial partnership of PhotoTherapy and Art Therapy.

Фототерапия как инструментарий психотерапии

The article describes a specific approach of using photography in psychotherapy which is called phototherapy by its author J. Weiser and is not widespread in Russian Federation at the time. That concept is distinguished from art therapy and therapeutic photography. Functions of photography are specified in the context of its value for psychotherapy and as a part of phototherapy process. We consider examples of using phototherapy around the world and present our conclusions about the audience and psychological problems where this approach shows its effectiveness.

Book Review for Del Loewenthal’s (ed.) ‘Phototherapy and Therapeutic Photography in a Digital Age’

Book Review for Del Loewenthal’s (ed.) ‘Phototherapy and Therapeutic Photography in a Digital Age’

Therapeutic photography

Recent reviews of therapeutic photography have identi¢ed the technique’s unique ability to transcend culture and language, both essential characteristics of international trauma therapy. This article describes a process, through which youth identi¢ed changes in self-perception after a photojournalism workshop, using an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach and conducted in a Shan migrant community centre in northern Thailand. The authors (a) provide a broad overview of a form of therapeutic photography utilised within a humanitarian aid context, (b) examine the concept of posttraumatic growth (PTG) within a traumatised adolescent population on the Thai/Burma border and, (c) suggest the potential for a new domain of growth as it relates to the application of Tedeshi & Calhoun’s conceptual foundation of PTG (1995), within a Southeast Asian context. Results suggest that perceptions of self, and one’s role in the community, did improve within the context of this project. A discussion of the limits and merits of this approach is also presented.

Jo Spence’s auto-therapeutic survival strategies

The use of the camera as a therapeutic tool is now being increasingly applied within clinical practice (photo-therapy) and, by the public, is being used as a form of non-clinical therapeutic photography. The subject of the present article, the late Jo Spence, was a pioneer and advocate of this approach and worked out a number of strategies that might usefully be passed on to a younger generation. Jo Spence's work is complex and multi-sided. For this reason, this article expands on some of the categories discussed in earlier publications, placing them in their historical context, as well as adding key photographic illustrations.

Empowerment for the Future: An Examination of Creative Identity of Young Indigenous Australians

This project aims to work with Indigenous youth to develop their ideas of their future using therapeutic photography techniques. Therapeutic photography techniques are photographic practices done by people themselves (in situations where the skills of a trained therapist or counselor are not needed) to increase their own self-knowledge and awareness, activate positive social change, strengthen communities, improve intercultural relations, reduce conflict, bring attention to issues of social injustice, deepen visual literacy, enhance education, expand qualitative research methodologies and produce other kinds of photo-based healing or learning. Aligned with contemporary practices (developed methodologies) of therapeutic photography with focus on the production of self-portraits, the concept of empowerment rises from the growth process of inner power of each individual that uses the photographic dialogue in order to realize the multiplicity of meanings embodied in the work of art. One's resulting perception of the 'self' in relation to the 'other', to the world and oneself fosters introspection, self-questioning and individuation. Through using this technique the facilitator aims to develop in the youths, the abilities and capacity to engage with the photographic media, as well as create a set of images that they can proudly point to as their vision for their future.

Breaking the frames – snapshooting the genre of family photography and ways of using it

This article is based on Ulkuniemi's key-note lecture in the Congress of Photo Therapy and Therapeutic Photography. The lecture dealt mainly with the history of family photography and the uses of family photographs in art education. Here Ulkuniemi has put her ideas in dialogue with some of the themes presented in the Special Issue (11.1) of European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling. Thus this article also serves as a commentary to some of the texts in this journal. The main approach of this article is to offer some hints about possibilities for using photographs in therapy by giving practical examples from the field of art education and art – Ulkuniemi's own visual-pedagogical installations. Another aim is to offer a general view of how a family photograph is constructed. Ulkuniemi will ‘break the frames’ by showing the various factors existing outside the frames that have influence on the outcome of the picture.

Jo Spence's camera therapy: personal therapeutic photography as a response to adversity

A complete formal history of the development of the field of ‘therapeutic photography’1 in the UK has yet to be written, but this paper attempts to provide a review of at least some of the earliest aspects of it as they relate to the work of my late former partner and collaborator Jo Spence (1934–1992). I discuss the photo therapeutic methods Spence developed as part of her solo cancer survival program under the isolated, poverty stricken and difficult conditions she found herself in after her cancer diagnosis and treatment in Nottingham, England–methods developed under these far-from-ideal conditions of adversity, but ones which nevertheless have stood the test of time and can thus enrich today's professional practices from a number of perspectives. I discuss three early methods used by Spence: ‘therapeutic staging’, ‘mirror therapy’, and ‘Scripting’, and end with a brief note regarding the important method of ‘collaborative photo therapy’ which developed out of this early work. These, amongst other ideas not dealt with here, constitute some of the contributions Jo Spence made to the field of therapeutic photography throughout the world.

Photo-psycho-praxis

This paper is a summary of the ideas presented in Mark Wheeler's keynote speech to the 2008 First International Phototherapy Symposium held at University of Turku, Finland. Ideas from art psychotherapy, psychological aesthetics, systemic therapy and photography combine to address the processes by which phototherapy, phototherapy techniques and therapeutic photography affect the psychological states of makers and viewers of photographic images in a variety of contexts. The ideas presented in Photo-Psycho-Praxis arise from domestic photography, fine-art photography, art history, art therapy, neuroscience and psychological aesthetics. This paper weaves together ideas from these diverse areas of enquiry to generate insight into the psychological dimensions of making and viewing photographs and how these impact on therapy when photographs enter the process.

Rush SpecialKare Keepsakes

When an infant is admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), parents seldom have the opportunity to celebrate special events in the infant's life within the context of the family. Our Rush SpecialKare Keepsakes is a program for parents of NICU infants that combines therapeutic photography, journaling, and memento preservation, with the goal of documenting the infant's birth and place within the family. The program has two distinct components: weekly scrapbooking sessions, which are free of charge to all NICU families; and Holiday Family Photo Shoots, in which infants are photographed with their family members to celebrate traditional holidays throughout the year. The program, which was conceived and implemented in January 2001, is under the direction of two NICU bedside nurses, who blend scrapbooking techniques with clinical expertise, so that weekly scrapbooking sessions are transformed into a unique type of parent support group. Data from the first 6 months of the program indicate that all 173 parent participants overwhelmingly appreciated the opportunity to attend these sessions, which they perceived as a brief respite from the NICU and an opportunity to interact with other families.