What Is Photography Therapy? How Can It Help During Cancer?

This process has several names: phototherapy or therapeutic photography . This approach, which does not identify itself as a psychotherapy method or theory, is an art therapy method whose only claim is to be a good communication tool between client and therapist.

The Most Important Ability Expected of People Today Is to Know Themselves Well and to Know and Understand Others.

To meet this expectation, people need to develop themselves well. For both young people and adults, the most important element of this development is acquiring knowledge . Research identifies the most prominent element of knowledge acquisition as visual literacy. John Berger said, "Seeing comes before speaking; a child learns to look and recognize before beginning to speak" . Visual literacy is defined as the ability to distinguish and interpret natural or human-made elements encountered in one's surroundings. Consciously or unconsciously, we have been seeing everything since childhood and storing it visually in memory. Our memory associates these images with certain emotions without our awareness. Our experiences lie deep in memory as visual images.

Photography Is Highly Successful in Helping People Know Themselves or Reveal Problems of Which They Are Unaware.

Generally, in photographs shown to others, we tend to share moments when we are smiling, enjoying ourselves and happy. Roland Barthes, in his book "Camera Lucida" , discusses the concept of Punctium ; he said, "it is the moment in a photograph that first attracts attention and pierces the person" . These moments are entirely subjective. This method allows us to journey into a person's memory through an image and address the story starting from that moment. In photography-based therapy, this personal process, Punctium, is our starting point.

Photography-Based Therapeutic Processes Can Work with All Age Groups and Illnesses.

In this work, conducted as individual or group therapy, clients (for example, patients with cancer) choose entirely for themselves the photographs they bring. Photograph content may fall into five different categories, each observed to carry different meanings.

1. The client's self-portrait (selfie)
2. A photograph taken by the client
3. A photograph of the client taken by someone else
4. From the client's family album: wedding, family gatherings, biometric photographs, etc.
5. Taken by someone else, liked by the client and carrying meaning

The photographs brought form the first step of therapy. Counseling continues by exploring a memory, emotion, thought or information evoked in the mind by one photograph. The selected photograph being discussed acts as a mirror in the client's memory, bringing out particular moments and stories. The process continues with retelling and narrating information and images in memory, and is elaborated by also narrating dreams. Through their reactions to photographs, clients learn many new things about themselves and discover themselves. The counselor's role is to guide and support the person through certain questions while discussing the photographs.

The Most Important Aspect of Photography Is Creating a Composition

In our work with cancer patients, the group receives basic photography training. Camera use, light and composition are explained. Group members do not have to own cameras. Composition is known to be photography's most important element, so there is no problem with taking photographs on a phone. Since phones are now an inseparable part of people's lives, this can become an advantage. After training, participants are asked to photograph everyday life, emphasizing that photographs are neither right nor wrong. The group then interprets the photographs taken and brought to sessions. The aims are to improve social skills, interpret experiences and strengthen motivation through photography.

Photographs are read using the details described above, and art supports self-discovery and personal motivation. By photographing scenes they see or taking self-portraits, people express what they wish to tell themselves and others through photography. A single photograph can reflect troubles or happiness that thousands of words cannot convey. People receiving cancer treatment can therefore express themselves comfortably by photographing the exhausting chemotherapy process, enjoyable moments, life changes and values. Positive photographs provide supportive strength, while other photographs are presented anew as a source of support through sharing in the group. Depending on group size, once everyone has shared a photograph, the work ends in the final week with storytelling around the photographs. This final storytelling evaluates experiences, feelings while photographing and speaking, and the process itself. There is nevertheless no time limit to the process. Since learning photography gives participants a new interest, they can meet whenever the group wishes and freely discuss their feelings through photographs.

As photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson said, "Taking a photograph means the eye, brain and heart coming together at the same moment; it is a way of life." In photography-based therapy, this route helps people know themselves, reveal strengths and weaknesses, reflect happiness in photographs, or gain a different perspective on problems during cancer. We set out on this path with participants, providing support and motivation along the way.