Phototherapy Techniques

The use of phototherapy in practice can be based on a variety of methods and methods. Depending on the relationship between a person and a photograph (who is the author, what is depicted on it, in what circumstances it was taken, etc.), there are five general techniques of phototherapy *.

Despite this classification, it is not always possible to clearly separate one technique from another. As a rule, within the framework of the session, they are combined in certain proportions, and also combined with other artistic means that we talked about in previous articles: writing stories, creating collages, albums, installations, drawings, etc.

Thus, all five techniques are a single whole, and we will consider them separately only from a formal point of view. In fact, the most effective will be their creative combination with each other. So, the actual technique:

1) Personal collections. This can include both photographs taken by the client (not necessarily of artistic value) or photographs that the client simply likes, such as those found on the net, in magazines, on postcards, etc.

Any photographic image from such a collection is partly a self-portrait, since it objectively reflects the inner world and personality of a person. Information about internal experiences, emotions, feelings, character can be read from such a photograph, but only with the help of the client himself. Moreover, the data obtained in this way will not necessarily be known to him, because phototherapy is often used to establish control over internal states, the cause of which is hidden for the time being.

2) Photos depicting the client, but taken by other people. Here we are talking about photographs in which the client is the subject of shooting (these can be both staged shots where the client poses, and spontaneous ones). Studying your own portrait taken by another person turns out to be a very useful practice, because. allows you to see yourself from the outside and correct previously unconscious signals given in the course of communication (and these signals are given by all people without exception). Often, clients are genuinely surprised when they see themselves in the photo, because. imagined themselves differently. This is not surprising: the subconscious is difficult to control, but the first step towards this can be a careful analysis of photographs and further development, taking into account the information received.

3) Self-portraits, i.e. photographs of himself taken by the client. Such photographs are created under the full or partial control of the client, which means they display, to one degree or another, what he wants. Creating a self-portrait – like a picture taken without the help of outsiders – liberates and allows you to explore yourself without looking at the other person. This is very important when dealing with the problem of adequate self-esteem and self-confidence: the ability to see oneself “as is” without putting on the mask of one of the social roles from which a person, alas, is not free, has a powerful therapeutic effect.
4) Family/biographical photo albums. This includes any photo collections related to the client’s biography, including family snapshots. Since, in most cases, family photo albums, etc. collections of photographs are created with the aim of telling about the history of the family – of course, from its best side, it can hardly be called an objective document. However, this is where the key to success lies: creating your own version of a photo album with comments or telling how and when this or that photo got into it allows you to take a different look at the past, present and future.

5) Technique of photo projections. Within the framework of this technique, we are talking about the formation of a spontaneous, primary opinion about a photograph in the process of viewing or creating it. Since the sensations and emotions generated in this process are purely individual and project the inner world of a person, therefore, any photograph has as many meanings as there are viewers. The bottom line here is that it’s not the photo itself that matters, but the client’s reaction to it.
This technique is not self-sufficient and is used in combination with the others. But you need to remember about it, because. projection is a very useful tool to allow the client to understand their way of perceiving the surrounding reality.

Also remember that using any of the five techniques involves not only and not so much creating or searching for photographs, but rather actively working with them. You need to start the process of “communication” with the photo: find out what emotions, feelings, associations or memories it evokes, ask why it is important or the client liked it, who took the picture and under what circumstances, why this particular photo was chosen, etc. . The key to the effectiveness of phototherapy lies precisely in the active work with photography: valuable information is often revealed during the session quite unexpectedly.
* Weiser J. Phototherapy Techniques: Using Photo Interactions to Improve People’s Lives // Visual Anthropology: Adjusting Optics / Ed. E. Yarskaya-Smirnova, P. Romanova. M.: Variant, TsSPGI, 2009. pp. 64-108