Phototherapy using non-personal photos
Posted by zinia pritchard If so, would this be still understood to be "phototherapy?"
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Re: Phototherapy using non-personal photos
Posted by Judy Weiser, Administrator I am a bit confused about what you mean by "photos from creation" but if you mean "using photos that already exist but are not ones about the client's own life -- (such as photos taken by others, that the client simply comes across, often by accident even -- for example, finding in a magazine or postcard or some photobook one day -- or even only imagined or remembered) then YES this is definitely included within the range of photos used in both PhotoTherapy practice and Therapeutic Photography practice as well... Whether or not the use comes under the "title" of PhotoTherapy specifically (or not), has mainly to do with the intention of the intervention, as well as its setting, as well as who these processes are done with: If the intention of the activator of the process (the therapist or counselor) is to conduct therapy (in which these photos assist the therapy process itself), then it is likely to be "PhotoTherapy". I won't go into this any futher, because ALL of this is covered in the discussion of these two different (yet related) kinds of photo-based healing practices that appears the bottom half of the page "Compared with Other Fields" on the main website, at: In all cases I am clear that "photos TAKEN OR COLLECTED BY the client" include "found photos" -- and most places where I refer to all these techniques, I use the words "or photos taken by others" or "gathered by the client into their collection of special images", etc. -- and that's where your own kind of "non-personal, non-family photographs" clearly fits... maybe in your quick review of the main website you might have missed what I was signifying by those terms... But in summary, yes, using "found" photos (that are not directly part of the client's own life story documentaiton) is very commonly part of both ranges of photo-based healing practices -- and its "title" as being "PhotoTherapy" or not, would depend upon the context it is used within. And at any time these could also be simply photocopies of photos, with no need to have the original image there because this field is not about the 'art part' of photography... In particular, you could read the pages for both the "Photo-Projective" technique and the "Photos by the Client" technique, which I believe deal with the kinds of photos you mention in your first sentence.... in Photo-Projective work, for example, people select a photo out of a collection of images provided by others, and then begin to talk about what they see there. When they tell about the story of that photo, how it came to be, what it's about (rather than just its surface visua "facts"), those deeper levels are able to be probed by a trained "guide" to get into things that usually are hard to connect with in words -- feelings aroused, memories triggered, insights into nonverbal values, judgments, and expectations (of self, as well as of others). ALL these things help them clarify their life and what the supposed ending of it will mean for them... There are also entire chapters about each of these techniques, in my book (see the "book/video" page of that site for more about the book).... with many examples of how photos clients "accidentally come across" have held strong power for them and -- if worked properly during a therapy session -- used to find resolution, closure, messages, inner strength, etc... I have used these a lot in palliative or death/bereavement applications, as have others who have posted to his page (also see the listing for that category on the "Who's Doing What, Where" page of the main site-- perhaps you'd like to email some of these people to exchange ideas...?? Photo-Projective PhotoTherapy works with ANY photographic image (literally by the client, or found by them in magazines or even those imagined or remembered without being able to be touched right now). etc etc etc.... I actually will be presenting about some of this at the upcoming national conference of CAPPE (Spiritual Care Providers and Pastoral Counselors) in Winnipeg in February -- perhaps you will be there? (I notice you are in Alberta...). I will be doing a full-day pre-confernce workshop about "Using PhotoTherapy Techinques in Spiritual Caregiving and Pastoral Counseling" and then the next day a short presentation about "Counseling for the Emotional, Mental, and Spiritual Aspects of HIV/AIDS" (I have had 20 years experience specializing in counseling people infected/affected, especially in street-involved Aboriginal/Native youth & adults... so YES these things, including photos not by the clients directly, CAN be used in palliative care for life-review, finding meaning and purpose, etc... If you want to know more about these two events, contact me privately (jweiser@phototherapy-centre.com) and I can send you the full descriptions. Or, if you wait another couple of days, they should be able to be downloaded from the "Upcoming Workshops" part of the "Training and Education" page of the main site... (not there yet; should be by Wednesday!)... I am VERY much interested to know more about this please, including what you mean by "photos from creation"... thanks, Judy (Weiser)
Link: main site for PhotoTherapy techniques
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