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PhotoTherapy
and Art Therapy
PhotoTherapy
and Art Therapy are not mutually exclusive -- rather, they
are integrally interrelated, reciprocal sub-sets of each
other, even though different in product and process because
two different kinds of media are used. They both work on
the basis of giving visual form to feelings and making the
invisible more visible, what Spence
(1986b) called a kind of "unconsciousness raising".
Krauss (1983a)
elegantly compares and contrasts Art Therapy with PhotoTherapy,
and the following discussion of the similarities and differences
includes many of his points:
All
Creative Arts Therapies are based on the idea that symbolic
representation of inner sensory-based information and experience
will always be a lot less distorted or truncated
than solely-verbal interpretations of such things can ever
be. Thus each time people create or view drawings or photographs
(or react to other people's images), they will always be
simultaneously projecting unconscious information through
metaphoric communication emerging from deep inside themselves.
When
people look at art or photos they themselves created, and
review the themes, messages, and emotional content unknowingly
embedded in these, they are able to learn more about their
own unconscious inner life. In communicating more directly
with the unconscious, visual symbols permit the natural
bypassing of verbal "filters" (and accompanying rationalizations,
excuses, and similar protective defenses) that automatically
limit clients' direct connection with powerful feelings,
thoughts, and memories.
In
both PhotoTherapy and Art Therapy, such symbolic communications
arise unmediated directly from the client's unconscious,
serving as only the first of many layers of potential meaning
that a trained therapist must help that person explore.
Krauss notes:
"Although
both Art Therapy and PhotoTherapy utilize the methodology
of pictorial projection, it would seem initially that
they do so in very different ways. Art Therapy relies
on a client's internal concerns to emerge from the unconscious
through the process of a drawing spontaneously produced
by the client -- and external stimuli, light, or content
need not be available at the time the client draws a
picture for an image to appear in the drawing...
"Photographs,
on the other hand, will be taken at the place where
the physical content actually exists [or its symbolized
form appears or is arranged to appear]. A photograph
of a house will use as content some physical representation
of a house.
"Since
Art Therapy is dependent on externalized internal subjects,
and PhotoTherapy is dependent on internalized external
subjects, it appears as though they deal with different
aspects of personal symbolism" (p. 53).
There
are some additional differences between the two fields,
not the least of which is the relative degree of ease, familiarity,
and social comfort that most clients have with taking and
showing snapshots, in contrast with expressing themselves
creatively using other art media.
Rarely
do people view a work of art without unconsciously realizing
that it expresses the personal viewpoint of its maker, because
attribution of a work of art is usually inherently part
of its meaning. Yet somehow a snapshot is automatically
perceived as being a factual image, one which anybody passing
by with a camera at that same time could have just as easily
duplicated. Therefore, when examining the scene captured
inside someone else's photograph, people unconsciously assume
that this is exactly the same "reality" they would have
actually viewed themselves, if they had been there too.
Therefore, speculation
about the goals, needs, feelings, or hopes of a photograph's
originator can be built into the therapeutic investigation
in ways not possible with artistic creations. Indeed,
because
the creator of a photograph can be so readily detached
from the image, PhotoTherapy techniques often include
the use
of photos not originating with the client, which is much
less common with art expressions used within Art Therapy
practice. (For more about Art Therapy itself, click here;
to view an excellent film about the many varieties of Art
Therapy practice, click here).
Krauss
further points out the additional value of the documentary
aspects of snapshots which form clients' personal histories:
"Personal and family photographs... [are] a rich source
of projective and physical data that could not be obtained
any other way. They provide background information about
a client's relationship to the world outside of therapy"
(ibid.), including that of their family members and how
they relate with one another as captured by a camera rather
than words.
One
of the biggest additional benefits of using photographs
in addition to personal art expressions in therapy work
is that clients can view themselves in ways not possible
without a camera. They can see how they actually physically
appear to others (while not mirror-reversed). They can view
parts of themselves not usually available for self-observation
(for example, their profile or back, what they look like
while asleep or caught in mid-motion, and so forth). They
get to see themselves while being a member of larger groups
like family, friends, or co-workers. It is difficult for
a drawing to do this in non-subjective way. And since photographic
representations of themselves are fixed in time and space
by a supposedly-objective mechanical device, clients "naturally"
presume that such photos are somehow more "truthful" in
what they show than artists' more subjectively-drawn portraits.
Memories
and feelings do not communicate directly in words -- they
flow whether or not they are being noticed or believed.
When people pause to describe or explain them, this very
act automatically alters what is being experienced or observed.
This
is the reason that all nonverbal sensory-based Expressive
Therapies are the most appropriate approaches for working
with the primarily visual metaphorical language of the
unconscious -- especially PhotoTherapy or Art Therapy
-- or, even better -- BOTH COMBINED! (For a more thorough explanation of Art Therapy, click here; to learn about "Photo Art Therapy" see immediately below.)
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Photo Art Therapy
"Photo Art Therapy" is when photos are used as an art medium by therapists who have also been specifically-trained in Art (or Expressive Arts) Therapy to use art-making for its healing benefits. In contrast, PhotoTherapy techniques are a wider professional therapeutic practice that can be done by (and taught to) any kind of mental health professional, including those who have never heard of art therapy.
The American Art Therapy Association defines Art Therapy as "the therapeutic use of art making, within a professional relationship, by people who experience [problems]... and by people who seek personal development... through creating art and reflecting on the art products and processes". Many art (or expressive arts) therapists have clients create art during sessions ("making art to make sense"). While such activities might involve photographic imagery or image-creating as an art medium during the primary process of therapeutic art-making, this does not fall under the formal definition of PhotoTherapy process itself because "making art [during therapy] using photos" is not an integral component to ordinary PhotoTherapy practice. Instead, those art-based activities require the skills of a therapist specially trained in additional art therapy techniques, to know how to do this properly (and safely).
This distinction might seem a bit artificial (and even perhaps unnecessary) from an outside viewpoint, but the primary pioneers of PhotoTherapy techniques who came together in 2009 at the "International Symposium of PhotoTherapy and Therapeutic Photography" in Finland came to the complicating but necessary conclusion that it was time to introduce the formalization of this third categorization (though really a sub-specialty of PhotoTherapy in many ways) -- due to having been encountering far too many art therapists not knowing the difference and thus who kept referring to their own field's specialized photo-art-based activities as "PhotoTherapy" techniques when, in fact, this was not true. Therefore the formalization of the category "Photo Art Therapy" was announced during the Opening Plenary Address of this Symposium -- and was welcomed by all art and expressive arts therapists in attendance as a much-welcomed clarification.
The actual choice of names for this specialty followed the title first used in print by art therapist and Jungian psychologist Irene Corbit in 1992 in her book by the same name (co-authored with art therapist and psychologist Jerry Fryrear). Corbit explained in her book's section "Why Photo Art Therapy", that:
"The combination of photographs and art work is a powerful tool for enabling and facilitating one in the ever-present challenge of living a more fulfilling life. The Photo Art Therapy activities are primarily visual, and many of the activities also add movement; all include discussion with a therapist, group, or partner... The creative-expressive nature of the activities is one of the most therapeutic qualities... Another advantage is... its multi-modal nature".
Thus, a key difference that helps to differentiate "Photo Art Therapy" practice from that of "PhotoTherapy" itself, is that art therapists usually have clients create art as an essential component of their therapy sessions (although, of course, each session might be a different proportion of art-making and talking about it):
Whereas "art-making during sessions" is very rarely done during "PhotoTherapy" sessions, a "Photo Art Therapy" session simply cannot happen without it (i.e., in Photo Art Therapy practice, if the "art part" is not happening, then the therapy itself is usually not happening -- whereas in PhotoTherapy practice the "art part" is not essential at all, even if it does occasionally happen). PhotoTherapy does fine without any "art part" at all, because PhotoTherapy is not about art -- not even about photographic art.
This is the key reason that NO training or skill in photography or photo-art-creating is needed for any kind of mental health professional to learn how to use PhotoTherapy techniques in their therapy practice (and training in Art Therapy techniques is not necessary) -- whereas for using Photo Art Therapy techniques, these things are primary and essential components of the training needed before using.
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PhotoTherapy
and Therapeutic Photography
"PhotoTherapy"
as pioneered in North America and Europe is quite different
from the kind of "Photo-Therapy" that Jo
Spence, and later Rosy
Martin, developed in England during approximately the
same time period (which elsewhere has long been known as
"Therapeutic Photography", "Autobiographical Photography",
"Photographic Self-Confrontation", or even "Photographic
Cultural Studies").
Unfortunately,
the accidental coincidence of these two very different photo-based
practices being named the same title has often resulted
in much confusion for people trying to get information about
one or the other -- and is likely also frustrating for licensed
therapists in England (such as Linda
Berman, Margaret Munyard,
Mark Wheeler, and others),
who use photos as part of their formal psychotherapy process,
yet who keep finding themselves being categorized into the
same category "title" as artists doing self-directed
photography work...
"PhotoTherapy"
is the name (in most of the world) for the use of photography
and personal snapshots within the framework of
formal therapy (or psychotherapy), where trained mental
health professionals use these techniques to help clients
during counseling sessions.
"Therapeutic
Photography" is the name for photo-based
activities that are self-initiated and conducted
by oneself (or as part of an organized group or project),
but where no formal therapy is taking place (no therapist
or counselor is guiding the experience for the purpose
of involving it later as part of some larger structured
counseling process).
• To learn more about how people can use these techniques to learn more about themselves and their lives, click here to listen to a brief radio interview with the Director of the PhotoTherapy Centre, Judy Weiser.
PhotoTherapy
is used by therapists in their work helping others,
while
Therapeutic Photography is done by individuals by and
for themselves in non-therapy settings for
the purpose of their own
personal growth and insight,
creative artistic statement, as an agent of personal/political/social
change or community-strengthening
-- or even more
broadly
when
using the camera for the purpose of qualitative research
or as part of organized community-based research projects
(such as "PhotoVoice")
It
might be helpful to view this as two end-points
of a continuum along which all photo-based exploratory
practices
can be positioned: PhotoTherapy at one
end ("photography-in-therapy"; i.e. therapist-directed
process where photos and interactions with them, used during
the therapy process to help others) and Therapeutic
Photography at the other end ("photography-as-therapy";
i.e. self-directed activities where photos are used for
personal insight oneself, even if part of a larger
project).
However,
the two practices are not opposites, either, and in fact
overlap where they intersect -- PhotoTherapy naturally including
many aspects of Therapeutic Photography, though taking it
several steps deeper into guided unconscious process work within an intentional (deliberate) therapy framework.
They are simply contrasting ways of using emotional information
that has been unconsciously embedded in people's personal
snapshots. Note: To read more about
these differences, click here
to download a brief (20KB) article;
to read a thorough comparison between Weiser's work and
Spence's, click here
to download an article on the subject (140KB).
Looking
at one's own personal collection of snapshots, or creating
photos oneself, can of course be personally beneficial (i.e.,
the photography itself being serendipitously "therapeutic"
for people using it to learn more about themselves). But
doing this can also bring up deep memories and powerful
emotions surprisingly quickly, which can sometimes be quite
overwhelming for those not knowing how to cope with such
things when they suddenly appear.
Since
no prior training in therapeutic theory or counseling skills
is required for those doing Therapeutic Photography, there
is no protective counseling framework in place with which
to immediately contain and resolve any emotional consequences
that might erupt for people participating in those activities.
Therefore, doing Therapeutic Photography by oneself, even
within a group setting with peer feedback, may
actually precipitate the need for a therapist to help "finish"
what has come to light during activities that took place
without one! In contrast, working with photo-triggered personal
insights and emotional reactions within the formal structure
of deeper therapy process, is the very definition, function,
and purpose of PhotoTherapy itself.
However,
calling attention to the basic differences between the two
fields does not mean they are adversarial in relationship.
Instead, they need to be viewed as simply two contrasting
ways of using emotional information unconsciously embedded
in people's personal photographs. One requires the involvement
of a professionally-trained counselor to formally guide
and support the process, whereas the other doesn't. One
emphasizes the therapy, and the other, the photography.
But
this truth doesn't mean that one is better or more valuable
than the other, or that one is more "right" than the other.
Rather, they are very simply not the same thing in the first
place, because "personal process" is just not the same thing
as formal counseling. Thus Therapeutic Photography (and
the U.K.-originated kind of "Photo-Therapy") isn't "therapy"
at all -- at least, not by the North American definition
of the profession -- while therapy is the sole focus,
purpose, and site of PhotoTherapy techniques!
• • •
•
An
article comparing Weiser's kind of PhotoTherapy with
Spence's kind ("Remembering
Jo Spence: A brief personal and professional memoir"),
can be downloaded from here
(the full citation for it can be found
here).
•
For
additional information about Jo
Spence and her valuable body of work, please click
here
for an introduction to the power and value of her
photography (from the announcement of her Summer 2005
posthumous exhibition in Glasgow -- and click here
for the full curatorial statement, which is excellent)
-- and as well, please see the "Recommended
Readings" page of this site (particularly
the second list on that page) and/or contact the her
Archivist, Terry
Dennett.
It
might also be helpful to look at both this website's
page for "Student Theses,
Papers, and Projects", which lists more recent
unpublished documents about both these fields, as
well as the page for "Who's Doing
What, Where" to find out more about others doing
similar work.
• • •
Link
to "Recommended Readings in PhotoTherapy and Therapeutic
Photography"
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PhotoTherapy
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