# PhotoTherapy Techniques / Therapeutic Photography Project



## Framed365 (Feb 15, 2012)

This is my project called Framed 365. It is a photo per day for 1 year style project but using PhotoTherapy Techniques as a form of self-exploration. Here is the link: Framed 365 it is a Facebook business page therefore if you wish to follow it you will need to click on the "like" button at the top of the page. 

I would really appreciate challenging comments / feedback on the images and analysis that I post daily. However, this is not intended to be a project about stunning / perfect photography, instead it is about the analysis and my progress as the project develops.

Here is the blurb I wrote about it from the site:


My name is Amy, I am a trainee Art Psychotherapist in the U.K. I have studied a Masters in Photography and have received level one training from Judy Weiser in PhotoTherapy Techniques.

PhotoTherapy can be defined as the use of photographs to improve well-being in therapy processes and activities in order to improve personal insight and healing.

For the 365 day duration of my project which began on 1st January 2012 I will take and publish one photograph every day with a small paragraph of text detailing my thought process, feelings and/or findings relating to that image. The photograph will be taken in response to one of the five PhotoTherapy Techniques within Judy Weiser's model of PhotoTherapy practice. The use of the techniques will rotate daily. 

This project is intended as a process of self-exploration for my own purposes. However, I hope that it may also provide creative inspiration to those who wish to follow my progress. I addition I aim to create an accessible working example of the use of PhotoTherapy Techniques as an insight into the potential benefits of trained therapists using these techniques with clients where appropriate.

I aim to utilise this project to explore the application of PhotoTherapy Techniques from a therapeutic standpoint (as a trainee therapist), however I will be using the techniques on myself, therefore in formal terms this is not PhotoTherapy it is defined as Therapeutic Photography.




I look forward to receiving your comments and feedback. Thank you for your time!

Amy


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## The_Traveler (Feb 15, 2012)

My impression is that the photography suffers greatly from your need to produce a picture every day that has some 'meaning' to you.
My actual personal opinion is unnecessarily rude.


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## Framed365 (Feb 27, 2012)

The_Traveler said:


> My impression is that the photography suffers greatly from your need to produce a picture every day that has some 'meaning' to you.
> My actual personal opinion is unnecessarily rude.



Well thank you for taking the time to comment, although I am not sure how useful it was. I would like to refer you back to my introductory comment which states as follows:

"However, this is not intended to be a project about stunning / perfect photography, instead it is about the analysis and my progress as the project develops."

Hopefully that will give you a little more insight into the fact that the value of these images does not lie in it being aesthetically pleasing / meeting certain photography standards. In light of that I would appreciate any further _constructive_ feedback and comments from people.


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## The_Traveler (Feb 27, 2012)

You are polling the wrong audience. We care about photography and how the photography encapsulates some of the values that we can understand. To some degree a photographer tries very hard to express his own views in as much a universal way as possible to admit other people into his/her vision. The photographs are successful to the extent he/she is successful and that the views expressed are meaningful and interesting. We, the editorial we, don't care if the picture is of something meaningful to you, the photograph is primary and meaning should reside in that.

Your art therapy, it seems, uses the art to allow you and others to see and understand you yourself; the art is certainly secondary to the introspection.


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## Framed365 (Feb 27, 2012)

I am afraid you are missing the point, the art or image is absolutely never secondary to the introspection. PhotoTherapy and Art Therapy are _entirely_ about the meaning that one conveys in and bestows upon an image, photograph or an art object. If you are interested you can learn more about the principles of PhotoTherapy here: PhotoTherapy Homepage

I posted about this project here because as you suggest, "the photograph is primary and meaning should reside in that"; if that is the case people will be interested in the meaning behind the images and the enormous power of the image itself, not just the aesthetic quality of the image.

I have not attacked anyone. I have not posted inflammatory comments. I am simply sharing a project in an _open forum _with those whom I feel may share my interests in order that they may engage in a stimulating conversation about the topic. Perhaps the warm welcome I received in the "welcome to newcomers" section of the forum was misleading, if that is the case and no one else wishes to discuss this project with me or follow my progress then I will happily ask the moderators to remove this thread.


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## The_Traveler (Feb 27, 2012)

Framed365 said:


> I posted about this project here because as you suggest, "the photograph is primary and meaning should reside in that"; if that is the case people will be interested in the meaning behind the images and the enormous power of the image itself, not just the aesthetic quality of the image.
> 
> I have not attacked anyone. I have not posted inflammatory comments. I am simply sharing a project in an _open forum _with those whom I feel may share my interests in order that they may engage in a stimulating conversation about the topic. Perhaps the warm welcome I received in the "welcome to newcomers" section of the forum was misleading, if that is the case and no one else wishes to discuss this project with me or follow my progress then I will happily ask the moderators to remove this thread.



The image in this situation is powerful only in that it is a reflection of what you ate seeing in it. It may be useful in a sort of self-generated-Rorschach-blot way.  In the end, it is you talking about yourself and what you are thinking and feeling when stimulated by the image.
I am self-involved enough to be interested in what impressions and feelings good images evoke in me.  I wish you luck in attracting an audience to your self-analysis.

Don't mistake frankness and an honest response for either a lack of welcome or understanding.
You may be unaccustomed to that but, whatever else there is here, you will generally get a truthful response.


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## mishele (Feb 27, 2012)

How are we to C&C something that is supposed to teach you about yourself? 
How do you feel about these photos?
Have you learned anything about yourself?

I think photography is second to the thought process that you put yourself through to pick a shot. It seems that all your attention goes into the writing and the deep thinking about yourself. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I just don't find the photography work to be inspirational.


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