Photo Therapy
Photo Therapy and Therapeutic, Photography techniques are not new, although before the internet, many people simply did not know they existed and had been used for over 100 years by the turn of this past century! The earliest written documentation of the use of photo-based therapy techniques found thus far dates back to 1856 by Dr. Hugh Diamond, less than twenty years later photography itself was invented… And the earliest use of Therapeutic Photography seems to have happened even earlier, with the use of "magic lantern" slides in 1844 by Dr. Thomas Kirkbride as social entertainment ("as a means of education and amusement") for patients at his mental hospital during their otherwise-empty evening hours when doctors were not onsite.
One of the easiest ways to keep updated and make new contacts with others of similar interests, is to join the Facebook Group for Photo Therapy, Therapeutic Photography, Photo Art Therapy, and Video Therapy -- Several thousand members there means that discussions and sharing of new information are always very interesting and exciting!
PhotoGrief: A New Resource for Coping With Grief is a wonderful website where the web is used to post photo's expressing and exploring pain and suffering. Every snapshot a person takes or keeps is also a type of self-portrait, a kind of mirror-with-memory reflecting back those moments and people that were special enough to be frozen in time forever.
Therapeutic Photography techniques are photographic practices done by people themselves (or their helpers) in situations where the skills of a trained therapist or counselor are not needed — for example, where photo-interactive activities are used to increase people’s own self-knowledge, awareness, and well-being, improve their relationships with family and others, activate positive social change, reduce social exclusion, assist rehabilitation, strengthen communities, deepen intercultural relations, lessen conflict, bring attention to issues of social injustice, sharpen visual literacy skills, enhance education, expand qualitative research and prevention methodologies, and produce other kinds of photo-based personal/emotional healing and learning - http://phototherapy-centre.com/
One of the easiest ways to keep updated and make new contacts with others of similar interests, is to join the Facebook Group for Photo Therapy, Therapeutic Photography, Photo Art Therapy, and Video Therapy -- Several thousand members there means that discussions and sharing of new information are always very interesting and exciting!
PhotoGrief: A New Resource for Coping With Grief is a wonderful website where the web is used to post photo's expressing and exploring pain and suffering. Every snapshot a person takes or keeps is also a type of self-portrait, a kind of mirror-with-memory reflecting back those moments and people that were special enough to be frozen in time forever.
Therapeutic Photography techniques are photographic practices done by people themselves (or their helpers) in situations where the skills of a trained therapist or counselor are not needed — for example, where photo-interactive activities are used to increase people’s own self-knowledge, awareness, and well-being, improve their relationships with family and others, activate positive social change, reduce social exclusion, assist rehabilitation, strengthen communities, deepen intercultural relations, lessen conflict, bring attention to issues of social injustice, sharpen visual literacy skills, enhance education, expand qualitative research and prevention methodologies, and produce other kinds of photo-based personal/emotional healing and learning - http://phototherapy-centre.com/
Photo Archives
Photographs have power. Creative photography allows us to see the world in new ways, to drop preconceptions, and to find focus in a busy, chaotic world.
Below are some photo's that I took while on a trip which I like to look at often, especially when I'm needing to feel inspired, grateful, or cheerful. Pictures and images can evoke all kinds of different emotions and feelings. Evoking emotion is subjective to the photographer and the viewer. Your audience might not see what you intend but they will most likely see something. Many times we fall in love with a piece of art or a photograph and have no idea why. This is evoking emotion. This is your goal. Most of us in this day and age have cell phones with built in cameras, and other types of cameras. There are apps that can turn our pictures into drawings, collages, Instagram's and on and on. We can use this modern technology to our own advantage to create, express and explore our inner and outer world. So, snap away. Have fun with it and practice, practice, practice.