Re: Photography & the Patient's Wellbeing

Posted by Judy Weiser, Administrator on 2/5/2006, 10:16 am, in reply to "Re: Photography & the Patient's Wellbeing"

Hello Jack, and thank you for your "thank-you" comments -- they are much appreciated (the site took a LOT of time and hard work, so I'm always happy when people notice that...) I will try to give you a bit of information here, but I am neither an academic, nor a researcher, so I'm afraid there's not much I can tell you... I do advise many students re: Thesis/Dissertation work (in therapy fields), but that is more re: how to structure their research design so that their results can mean something and also so that it's done as ethically as possible. Usually they know what they are wanting to research (study) and I just only help them "fine-tune" their actions to better meet their goals. BUT when you tell me that you want to "explore a qualitative research project", and then ask me the best way to do it, but don't tell me what you want to find out -- and then give "pitfalls" as being the opposite of a "thorough study" -- I get confused. For some reason (perhaps because you write in short general sentences*, I don't quite grasp why you would want to do any study in the first place...) (*for example, "I met with Sandra Plach, Professor of Nursing" -- but you don't say why you met with her (who she is, that you are telling me this...) I con't quite understand why you bothered to mention it...) It seems to me that the best approach to doing any study, is to first think about why one would want to ever do it, what one hopes the outcome can be, and then how to design your actions to make sure that what you get as results, are due to the factor(s) you are studying and not confounded by other things which would mean all your hard work cannot be used to prove what you had originally wanted to prove.... You are a photographer and a Nurse -- but you don't mention being a therapist, nor having any training in the field... are you also a trained therapist?? Do you do therapy? I am a psychologist and use photos as a bridge into feelings, thoughts, and memories DURING my psychotherapy sessions with them. While having people smile and interact positively when looking at photographs is a great result, this process is not (by my definitions), therapy -- although it could certainly be very therapeutic!! Therefore it seems to me that your project would fit more under the domain "Therapeutic Photography" (if you're not clear on the difference, see the page of my site called "Compared with Other Fields", at: www.phototherapy-centre.com/comparisons.htm And when you get into that non-therapy domain, I'm not sure why a research project would be done in the first place.... The question of "Who are you going to be proviing what to, and why?" would be the first thing I would ask anyone if I were hired to formally consult on a project they wanted advice about... So: do you have a goal of proving something to some group of people so that they will do something different as a result? THAT would be how I would begin guiding a student to help them better clarify what exactly they are wanting to have happen, as a result of their study... And, I cannot quite figure out what you are wanting to have change, as a result of any study... Which brings me to: I am semi-retired, in that I no longer treat clients/patients and spend my professional time as a Trainer, Author, and Consultant... This last title means that I sell my knowledge for income (like a Lawyer or Tax Accountant, etc...). I am not "employed" (I am not paid any salary by any agency or hospital, so in private practice I only receive income (for paying bills) by what I"m paid for my time to teach or consult -- and so therefore while I'm happy to do a small bit of mentoring to help you out (example: this 20 minutes of typing now), I am not usually able to do long messages advising for free (sorry to be so blunt, but it's the same as asking a Lawyer for "a little advice" versus long periods of writing out legal documents for free...) I don't mean to be mercenary but.... I have only so much extra time each day for helping carry this field forward, and your questions are more about research than about PhotoTherapy... What I'd suggest is that you consult (in your own local area), those professionals who can advise you on research design itself -- and then ask me only those questions which relate specifically to the PhotoTherapy (or Therapeutic Photography) components themselves; i.e. only those questions that you need me for the answering of. Research in these two fields has been published. One of the best ways to move your own work forward is to read what others have already done and adapt yours from there (also so that you don't accidentally spend a lot of time repeating what's already been done!) Have a look at the "Recommended Readings" page and the "Student Thesis/Dissertations" page and gather your background that way... Also check out related applications such as Art Therapy (there are Art Therapists in your area, many of whom know research design re: qualitative formatting, quite well)... Also, do more internet surfing and find some of those groups (many of which are also on the "Links" page of my site, to check out groups such as the very active branches of the international group "The Arts in Healthcare", whose conferences are wonderful -- and also groups like "Hospital Audiences International", and others whose main focus is the benefits of arts activity for hospital patients (including mental ones)... ANYWAY, all this to say that just "doing a study" will waste your time unless you know WHY you are doing it, and then "work backward" from there to plan your design to get you there in the least confounding way -- so that the results can have the effect you hope for.... There are a LOT of people showing photos to people to make them feel better (see also a lot of research re: this and Seniors and/or Alzheimers -- the *purpose* is the same) -- projecting meaning onto pictures and having emotional reactions as a result, is great -- but it's also the "Photo-Projective" technique and many people are using photos as a way to have this happen... If you want to contact me privately to have me do some formal consulting on your study, please feel free to do so, but I cannot think of any other answers to give you at this time (especially since I'm not quite sure what your questions are!). A small bit of time I can share with you for free; anything in-depth, I'll have to charge you my usual consulting fee. Sorry to be so blunt, but.... that's how my life is! Judy