Ricerca scientifica
Nonostante l’infinita varietà di declinazioni che la fotografia in terapia può avere, e la complessità nella validazione empirica che ciò comporta, negli ultimi anni sono stati condotti numerosi studi a partire dall’esperienza clinica di esperti nel campo. Diverse ricerche hanno portato alla definizione dell’efficacia della fotografia in diversi contesti e con diversi tipi di pazienti.
Sono stati identificati benefici nella gestione dell’ansia, della depressione, del trauma del dolore cronico, nonché nella promozione della consapevolezza e della mindfulness. La fotografia in terapia si è dimostrata utile anche nella terapia di coppia e nella psicoterapia per anziani.
Photography in therapy
2022 | Il Punto d'incontro - Orientamenti teorici e le PhotoTherapy Techniques di Judy Weiser
Francesca Belgiojoso con Claudia Azzola (2022) IL PUNTO D’INCONTRO Orientamenti teorici e le PhotoTherapy Techniques di Judy Weiser, nemo, issue 4 pg 6
2019 | Using Photography to Enhance Development of Self, Professional Identity, and Multicultural Awareness
Maya K. Schmidt, Jennifer L. Murdock Bishop & Kent Becker (2019) Using Photography to Enhance Development of Self, Professional Identity, and Multicultural Awareness, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 14:1, 105-114,
DOI: 10.1080/15401383.2018.1534630
Abstract
Counseling can be a vulnerable process for clients and counselors alike. Counselors-in-training often find their early development to be an ambiguous and anxiety-provoking process. Both metaphors and experiential activities are effective methods in counselor training for addressing the ambiguity of counseling and the concerns experienced by counseling students. This article describes how counselor educators can use photography as a metaphor to support counselor development. We also outline four creative photography activities designed to foster self-reflection, professional identity development, and multicultural awareness among counselors-in-training.
2016 | On the uses of Photography in Clinical Psychology
Belgiojoso, F. e., 2016. On the uses of Photography in Clinical Psychology. Psicoart.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2038-6184/6051
Abstract
The article presents and investigates different aspects of the use of photography in clinical psychology. It focuses on Judy Weiser’s PhotoTherapy Techniques and presents some data from an exploratory qualitative research.
2013 | Talking Pictures Therapy as Brief Therapy in a School Setting
“Del Loewenthal (2013) Talking Pictures Therapy as Brief Therapy in a School Setting, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 8:1, 21-34,
DOI: 10.1080/15401383.2013.763679
Abstract
This article presents talking pictures therapy as an approach to brief therapy, in which photographs are used in brief psychotherapy and counseling with the purpose of enabling clients to express and explore through photographs aspects of their lives they would like to talk about. The author presents case examples using talking pictures therapy in brief therapy with two children aged 12 and 13 years old, in a UK school setting. Use of these photographs is discussed, both in relation to working with children and as an approach to brief therapy. In turn, the use of photographs is discussed further through the client material with regard to its use as an evaluative measure in assessing the client’s “progress” through the study, as compared with standardized measures of client progress.
2012 | Counseling Through Images: Using Photography to Guide the Counseling Process and Achieve Treatment Goals
Misty M. Ginicola, Cheri Smith & Jessica Trzaska (2012) Counseling Through Images: Using Photography to Guide the Counseling Process and Achieve Treatment Goals, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 7:4, 310-329,
DOI: 10.1080/15401383.2012.739955
Abstract
Creative approaches to counseling help counselors to meet the needs of diverse populations. The utility of photography in counseling has been demonstrated through several case studies; however, clear implications of how photography relates to the counseling process have not been well delineated. The existing literature on phototherapy is reviewed and connected to specific photo directives within the counseling process and common psychotherapeutic techniques.
2009 | A photograph as a therapeutic experience
Ulla Halkola (2009) A photograph as a therapeutic experience, Europea Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 11:1, 21-33,
DOI: 10.1080/13642530902723116
Abstract
In this paper I will study the psychotherapeutic significance of the photograph. The role of photographs in psychotherapy is functional: the actual therapy is based on the professional skills of the psychotherapist, acquired within his/her specific frame of reference. The background for the observation of the theoretical basis of phototherapy is the classification of the methods of phototherapy into three categories: looking at biographical photographs, taking new photographs, and looking at both symbolic and associative photographs. This classification is the one used in Finland, and it is closely related to the semiotician Roland Barthes’ thoughts on the special nature of photographs. He has made himself the measure of photographic ‘knowledge’. I have tried to find some basic views concerning human mind and psychotherapy and to find the points where watching is important and why it is useful and efficient to watch and use photos in psychotherapy. The most recent brain studies using functional imaging techniques have given many inspiring insights into this question of the importance of visual sense and watching. I believe that both internal and external pictures give richness to therapy process and also to the development of phototherapy.
2009 | Incorporating Photography as a Therapeutic Tool in Counseling
René Stevens & Evans H. Spears (2009) Incorporating Photography as a Therapeutic Tool in Counseling, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 4:1,3-16,
DOI: 10.1080/15401380802708767
Abstract
Over a period of 150 years, photographic images have contributed to how we see and think about the world, ourselves, and others. Individuals who are particularly resistant to therapy and those who communicate better with the use of visual aids may not benefit from standard counseling practices alone. Although verbal communication is vital in most forms of therapy, several alternative expressive therapies are available. As a form of complementary and alternative therapy, photography has shown to be beneficial for individuals who express themselves more adequately with visual aids. As an expression of reality, photography assists the rehabilitation counseling process and has been implemented in various therapeutic settings. This article also describes several international organizations that encourage and support the use of phototherapy for rehabilitation of people in need.
1960 | Toward a Projective Psychology
Lawrence K. Frank (1960) Toward a Projective Psychology, Journal of Projective Techniques, 24:3, 246-253,
DOI: 10.1080/08853126.1960.10380967
Family therapy, family albums and family photographs
2022 | Le Foto dell’Album di Famiglia come Ponte verso Sé
Le Foto dell’Album di Famiglia come Ponte verso Sé di Floriana Di Giorgio
Link https://formazionecontinuainpsicologia.it/foto-album-famiglia-come-ponte-verso-se/
2009 | Breaking the frames – snapshooting the genre of family photography and ways of using it
Seija Ulkuniemi (2009) Breaking the frames – snapshooting the genre of family photography and ways of using it, Europea Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 11:4, 385-396,
DOI: 10.1080/13642530903444779
Abstract
This article is based on Ulkuniemi’s key-note lecture in the Congress of Photo Therapy and Therapeutic Photography. The lecture dealt mainly with the history of family photography and the uses of family photographs in art education. Here Ulkuniemi has put her ideas in dialogue with some of the themes presented in the Special Issue (11.1) of European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counselling. Thus this article also serves as a commentary to some of the texts in this journal. The main approach of this article is to offer some hints about possibilities for using photographs in therapy by giving practical examples from the field of art education and art – Ulkuniemi’s own visual-pedagogical installations. Another aim is to offer a general view of how a family photograph is constructed. Ulkuniemi will ‘break the frames’ by showing the various factors existing outside the frames that have influence on the outcome of the picture.
2008 | The Use of Phototherapy in Couples and Family Counseling
Katharina L. Star & Jane A. Cox (2008) The Use of Phototherapy in Couples and Family Counseling, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 3:4, 373-382,
DOI: 10.1080/15401380802527472
Abstract
Couples and family counselors have a long history of using creative techniques with their clients. Counselors can use creative arts to help clients express deep emotions, gain self-awareness, and move toward individual and family goals. There are numerous ways in which counselors can incorporate creative strategies in their work with couples and families. This article provides an overview of the creative technique of phototherapy, which uses family photos and home movies to explore family dynamics. An illustrative example is provided.
1960 | The Family Album as a Therapeutic Tool
Edgar A. Levenson (1960) The Family Album as a Therapeutic Tool, Psychiatry, 23:2, 219-223,
DOI: 10.1080/00332747.1960.11023220
Photography and eating disorders
2018 | Disturbi alimentari e PhotoTherapy Techniques: una via per le parole
Claudia Vallebona (2018) DISTURBI ALIMENTARI E PHOTOTHERAPY TECHNIQUES: UNA VIA PER LE PAROLE, Ne-mo, issue 1, pg 20.
1985 | Using Family Photographs in the Treatment of Eating Disorders
D.T. Wessells Jr. (1985) Using Family Photographs in the Treatment of Eating Disorders, Psychotherapy in Private Practice,3:4, 95-105,
Abstract
The goal of this article is to describe a system of review of family photographs to enable patients to address important emotional issues related to their need for treatment. This technique will be applied to patients suffering from eating disorders. Specific themes of anorexia will be reviewed and related to visual themes present in the family photographs of anorexics. Images from the album of an anorexic patient will be reviewed to examine both the content of the images and the process through which the patient related to the images.
Photography and grief
2022 | Grief, photography and meaning making: A psychological constructivist approach
Jiménez-Alonso, B., & Brescó de Luna, I. (2022). Grief, photography and meaning making: A psychological constructivist approach. Culture & Psychology, 28(1), 107–132.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X211015416
Abstract
This article examines the value of using photography as both a methodological and therapeutic tool for the construction – and study – of meanings after a death-related loss. A study case, consisting of narratives of mourning elicited through a personal photo diary and a follow-up interview, will be analyzed in light of five key advantages of using photography to study grief experiences according to a social constructivist approach. These advantages are (1) agency in the search for meaning; (2) the role of photography as a tool for scaffolding narratives of loss; (3) the role of photography in preserving the continuing bonds with the deceased; (4) the role of photography as technology of the self for emotional self-regulation and (5) photography as a process in the reviewing of the contextualized experience.
2022 | Il lutto durante il Covid-19: narrazioni di perdita attraverso la fotografia
Silvia Piol, Sara Pompele, Claudia Azzola e Ines Testoni (20229 IL LUTTO DURANTE IL COVID-19: narrazioni di perdita attraverso la fotografia, nemo, issue 4, pg 92
2021 | Multimedia Psychotherapy: brief report of a pilot study
Nesci DA, Chiarella SG, Corona E, Savoia V, Zampogna M, Nesci FA, Porcaro G, Mari G, Nappa MR, Palummieri A, Calabrese L, Raffone A, Averna S, Dunn LB, Almadori G, Paludetti G. Multimedia Psychotherapy: brief report of a pilot study. Riv Psichiatr 2021;56(3):149-156
Collage as therapeutic practice
2019 | Silvia, il collage come celebrazione
Francesca Belgiojoso (2018) SILVIA, IL COLLAGE COME CELEBRAZIONE, <ne.mo, issue 1, pg 6
Link: https://www.networkitalianofototerapia.it/ne-mo/
2015 | Ars combinatoria. L’identità borderline del photocollage
Massicci, E. (2015). “Ars combinatoria”. L’identità borderline del photocollage. PsicoArt – Rivista Di Arte E Psicologia, 5(5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2038-6184/5119
Abstract
Il photocollage si presenta dal punto di vista estetico come un linguaggio fortemente ibrido, dal momento che oscilla continuamente tra poli identitari differenti: tra fotografia e pittura, tra cultura alta e cultura popolare, tra manualità e concettualità, tra arte e psicologia. Costituisce, infatti, un mezzo artistico denso di implicazioni psicologiche, tanto che numerosi studi ne hanno appurato la validità in ambito arte-terapeutico.
Nell’articolo si espongono le diverse dinamiche psicologiche connesse con la pratica e con la fruizione di collage fotografici sia di origine clinica, educativa o spontanea, sia realizzati in contesto prettamente artistico. In particolare verranno analizzati alcuni fenomeni significativi: la tendenza all’autorappresentazione metaforica e alla narrazione autobiografica, il coinvolgimento empatico con le figure ritratte nelle fotografie, lo sviluppo della rievocazione mnemonica e dell’immaginazione creativa, le potenzialità curative.
Self-portrait
2022 | Il selfie per un nuovo sguardo su di sé
Il selfie per un nuovo sguardo su di sé di Francesca Belgiojoso
Link: https://formazionecontinuainpsicologia.it/il-selfie-per-un-nuovo-sguardo-su-di-se
Photolangage
2020 | PHOTOLANGAGE® un dispositivo gruppale in psicoterapia e in ambito formativo
a cura di Giuseppe Lo Piccolo, Pietro Alfano e Claudine Vacheret (2020) PHOTOLANGAGE® UN DISPOSITIVO GRUPPALE IN PSICOTERAPIA E IN AMBITO FORMATIVO, Ne.mo, issue n2, pg 52
Link: https://www.networkitalianofototerapia.it/ne-mo/
Therapeutic Photography
2023 | Using Therapeutic Photography in Social Work—An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of the Dynamics within a Group Programme
Neil Gibson, Using Therapeutic Photography in Social Work—An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of the Dynamics within a Group Programme, The British Journal of Social Work, 2023; bcad196.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcad196
Interviste
Area G
L’uso della fotografia in psicoterapia: parliamo di Phototherapy Techinques con Francesca Belgiojoso
Witness Journal
Intervista 2023: Francesca Belgiojoso
Marie Claire
Intervista 2023: Noi siamo il reale? // Immagini
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