PhotoTherapy Discussion Group

PhotoTherapy Discussion Group
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Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire

Posted by Ciaran Earley on 11/2/2004, 8:18 am

Are there any folk out there who use photos as
codifications of generative themes in order to
stimulate dialogue leading to social action or learning events. This used to be done in the Adult Learning Project (ALP) in Dalry Road Edinburgh - led by Stan Kirkwood. In Dublin Terry Barret did her doctoral thesis on Photography and the Pedagogy of Paulo Freire( i.e.
Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire

Posted by Nancy Somerville on 5/11/2005, 3:50 am, in reply to "Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire"
193.39.158.195

ALP is alive and well but at a new address. Stan Reeves (not Kirkwood) is still there as a Community Education Worker attached to the project.
Colin and Gerri Kirkwood wrote a book about ALP, called "Living Adult Education : Freire in Scotland," (Gerri used to work at ALP.)
New address:
ALP, Tollcross Community Education Centre, Tollcross Primary School, 117 Fountainbridge, EDINBURGH, EH3 9QG
Tel: 0131 221 5800
email: stan.reeves@educ.edin.gov.uk

Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire

Posted by Ciaran Earley on 5/11/2005, 7:51 am, in reply to "Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire"

Glad to know ALP is alive and well.
Did Stan take part in the recent Judy Weiser
photo-therapy workshop in Derby.
Did he write anything subsequently as to how he sees Judy's tecniques in relation to the social empowerment ( awareness raising ) use of photo-language in ALP.
Has ALP done anything in relation to the Frankfurt School of Critical thinking -particularly the beginners guide to Habermas and understanding how society works.
If I'm addressing you Stan, are you still open to coming to Ireland and doing a day or two with people involved in training for transformation re use of photography in work for social change.?
Thank you Nancy Summerville for writing
We are sending you our PHOTOSPEAK II pack as a gift- to the Tollcross address.
We learned much from ALP in half a day -10 years ago.
Namaste Ciaran

Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire

Posted by Judy Weiser, Administrator on 5/11/2005, 1:36 pm, in reply to "Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire"

No, Ciaran, he was not there, which is unfortunate... I think he did not have any way to know I was in Scotland, actually....
perhaps when you communicate with him you could tell him more, on my behalf, about what I do and teach -- as well as how much the "Therapeutic Photography" component of what I do, overlaps these areas you are both interested in, so much???
thank you!
Judy

God Is at Eye-level -Jan Phillips

Posted by Ciaran Earley on 6/2/2005, 8:51 am, in reply to "Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire"

Must recommend this wonderful book which like its author is contemplative, compassionate and creative and promotes all of these qualities/values in readers.
We are trying in the dynamic of the provisional to bring jan Phillips to Ireland in 2007.
new interest : The labyrinth - maybe phototherapy can be linked to it!?

Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire

Posted by Judy Weiser, Administrator on 5/11/2005, 1:33 pm, in reply to "Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire"

Hello Nancy (and Ciaran!),
Sure wish I'd known this information last month -- because I was IN Edinburgh and giving a public lecture about "PhotoTherapy" and "Therapeutic Photography" the evening of April 19th! I stayed in Fife for several days; sure wish I'd known about this sooner...
I will try to contact Stan Reeves to let him know about this dialogue and the "PhotoTherapy Techniques" Website, but perhaps you could also let him know??
also I'm curious how you know about this site (and thus how you found Ciaran's message)?? are you involved in this kind of work also??
thanks!
Judy Weiser
jweiser@phototherapy-centre.com

Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire

Posted by Ulla Halkola on 6/2/2005, 5:40 am, in reply to "Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire"
130.232.49.147

Hello Ciaran Earley,
I have worked in Finland at the University of Turku in one European project: Drama a Way to Social Inclusion". Drama Way -project explored the multiple ways drama and theatre can be used to help young people towards social inclusion. It experimented with various cultural activities on the edge of formal and informal education. Drama was not just art for arts sake. The meaning of project was to be an active creation of alternative futures and identities by the young people themselves. In Drama Way skills and methods were developed in order to serve the needs of young people better.
I�m a psychotherapist and trainer and I use many phototherapeutical methods in my work both in therapy and training. In DramaWay project I and my college Tarja Koffert developed a method "Photo as Step to Drama". We have done two workshops by this method, one in Barcelona in Spain and one in Turku in Finland. We have had good experiences in connecting photos and drama in this kind of learning processes.
We participated in Julian Boals workshop in Barcelona and got many ideas there how to continue this work with different learning groups or in social context.
You can get more information via DramaWay web-sites.
http://www.tkk.utu.fi/dramaway
There is also one Photo as a Step to Drama PowerPoint program. I wish it works well enough in your machine!
Best wishes Ulla Halkola

Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire

Posted by Judy Weiser, Administrator on 6/2/2005, 10:06 am, in reply to "Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire"

Ulla it is good to hear from you, and thank you for your dedication to this Discussion Group, by reading and posting here about your own fascinating work. It was a pleasure coming to teach for you and the others there in Turku last year, and I hope the "Finnish PhotoTherapy Association" is doing well??
anyway, re: Ciaran's postings and your comments about Boal and using photos in drama and drama-therapy, I think you would be interested in this doctoral thesis (which I am still trying to get more information about);
"Photography and the Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Terry Barret in Dublin...
Ciaran is supposed to be getting me the contact information for this person but I have no details yet. However I have a feeling that it will be useful to us all, and especially you re: the work you have been doing.
Please convey my greetings to Tarja, Leena, and the others, and hope to see you again some time soon,
Judy

Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire

Posted by Ulla Halkola on 6/17/2005, 5:39 am, in reply to "Re: Photo-therapy and Paulo Freire"
130.232.49.139

Hello Judy and Ciaran and all others in discussion Group,
Thank you Judy very much for this Group! As well as having such a good work in teaching and training professionals in the fied of PhotoTherapy. The connection with Ciaran has been so intresting for me! We both have been the area and we have also done photocards. We have posted those to each other! I�m sure that our discussion will continue and perhaps we also meet sometime in Finland or In Ireland or somewhere else, you never know.
Judy, you asked also about our Finnish PhotoTherapy Association. I�m pleased to tell you that our association is in a good way, we have active participants and have had meetings together. Many newspapers have written about phototherapeutical work and I think it�s nowadays a little bit more familiar what all does it mean.
The time for summerholidays is beginning in Finland, it�s time to rest and relax and perhaps to take some new photos in Nature!
Best wishes for all of you,
Ulla