I am delighted to announce that from this Summer (2025) I will be offering 1 to 1 therapy/counselling appointments. As a qualified pluralistic therapist, I work collaboratively with my clients to use approaches that work best for them. I can draw on a number of modalities and creative techniques, and I have been using photography as a tool with clients to great effect.
Being based in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, I can meet clients face to face in Banchory where I have a meeting room, but I am also skilled at working online, and welcome clients from out with the area (and international clients). I am registered and insured and have included information on my web site about qualifications.
From the 10th to the 13th June, 2024, I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at a symposium looking at community based organisations and best practice. Megan Ribbens and I hosted day 3 of the event where the focus was on using creativity and creative approaches to overcoming challenges. Amongst the presentations, we explored the use of photography as a tool for empowerment and advocacy, as well as self discovery.
This is some of the feedback we received after the event. Such a fantastic response to this sell out evening. You can visit this link to watch a recording of the symposium, the individual presentations, and the additional Fringe Event recordings.
This Friday the 26th April I will be hosting the 2nd International Therapeutic Photography Symposium with my friend and co-therapeutic photographer, Ruth Davey. We have some fantastic presentations for you on at the event which will also be recorded and made available on YouTube for free afterwards. We had a large number of submissions to present and, alas, we could not accept everyone, so we asked a select few to record presentations for us to present outwith the symposium…a kind of Fringe event 🙂
I am delighted to present the first of these Fringe presentations to you. I would like to introduce Rosalinda Chaves from DESPHOCO in Portugal. Rosalinda is a clinical and health psychologist and presents her latest therapeutic photography project. Enjoy!
I’m sharing the information below for anyone who might be interested in attending this great event which is being run by the very talented Alison Beaumont, a recent graduate from RGU’s Therapeutic Photography course.
🎨✨ Join Us for the Arts & Creativity for Health & Wellness Festival! ✨🎵
Unleash your creativity and discover the healing power of the arts! 🌟
I am so very proud to invite followers, friends and folks from all over the world to an upcoming art festival hosted online. I will be offering a Wellness Photography session on April 20th. Watch for more posts. All the deets below ⬇️
Are you ready to explore the transformative impact of creativity on your health and wellness journey? 🌿 The Americas+ Team from the Global @artsinmedicinefellowship invites you to join us for two unforgettable days filled with immersive artistic experiences.
🎭 Dive into a world of creativity and discover activities including: 🖌️ Art 🧘♂️ Meditation 📸 Photography 🎶 Music 🌀 Mandalas 💃 Dance 📝 Writing …and more!
Whether you’re looking to unleash your inner artist or simply seeking a moment of self-care, our festival offers something for everyone. Join us for one day or both, and invite your friends and family to join in on the fun! 🌈
Ready to embark on a journey of self-discovery and wellness through the arts? Reserve your spot today and share the joy of creativity with others! 🎉
Upon registration, you will receive an email with the Zoom link that will be the same for both days. Stay tuned for the full festival schedule with descriptions of the sessions. For questions, please email gaimfamericas@gmail.com.
I received this wonderful book today from the author and photographer, Kat Mahale, and I am very much looking forward to reading it. From what I have read so far I am very impressed – personal images, beautiful narratives, and Kat’s voice guides the reader through each conversation. Another fantastic contribution to the world of the therapeutic use of photography!
The presenters have now been confirmed for the upcoming International Therapeutic Photography Symposium 2024. We are delighted to announce the following presenters: Ulla Halkola from Finland, Mandy Seligman from USA (UK originally), Gabrielle Motola from USA, Khrystyna Muzychuk from Ukraine, Vasileios Kantas from Greece, Louise Far from the Philippines, Kat Mahale from the UK, Andre Potters-Kemp from the Netherlands, Marina Belaya from Russia, Natalie Hunfalvay from Australia, and of course Ruth Davey and Neil Gibson from the UK. We also had some excellent submissions which we will not have time to show on the night, but we will be putting on a fringe event to showcase work from other parts of the world…more information on that to follow.
Bookings are now open for the 2nd International Therapeutic Photography Symposium. The event will take place online on the 26th April 2024 between 6pm and 9pm UK time. Tickets are free but you must book to be able to attend. Please only book if you intend to attend virtually on the night. The event will also be recorded and made available on YouTube afterwards.
This is the final link I want to share from the Wex Photo and Video site. Once again, I am very impressed that a photographic shop has decided to focus on therapeutic photography on their website. In this 4th video, Leonie Hampton explores using her camera to explore mental health issues, including OCD.
In the 3rd of 4 videos I would like to share from Wex Photo and Video website, Daniel Regan talks about photography as a tool to communicate, process and heal when dealing with mental health related diagnoses and issues.
The second video I wanted to share with you is by Paul Sanders. It is one of the videos promoted on the Wex Photo and Video site and well worth a watch. He focuses on mindful photography and his journey into this through a career in photography.
I was very pleased and surprised to see a special section on the Wex Photo Video homepage dedicated to therapeutic photography. I am going to share the videos that are on their page as they are freely available on YouTube. The first is an interview/conversation with Louis Quail about fighting stigma.
I had the pleasure of presenting the closing keynote speech at this virtual event. I worked with an excellent translator during the session who patiently took the time to convey my presentation to the Mandarin speaking audience. Hopefully next year I will be able to attend in person and run some workshops.
I’m going to be presenting the closing keynote speech at a conference in Hong Kong which focuses on using photography in coaching. I will be exploring the topic of therapeutic photography and how exercises can be shaped to achieve the intended outcomes of coaching, particularly around exploring the present, setting goals for the future, and identifying strengths. The conference is on the 16th December 2023…unfortunately I will be presenting virtually from Scotland so will not be able to attend in person.
On Saturday the 18th November, 2023, Dorota Raniszewska hosted the first International Symposium on Photography in Coaching. There were some excellent speakers including Judy Weiser and Mandy Seligman, and fortunately the whole event was recorded and is available to watch on YouTube.
I came across this video on YouTube and wanted to share it as it resonated. It has been made by a photographer, Rick Bebbington, and he talks about using photography (and other methods) to help make sense of who you are…lots of connections to what we do in therapeutic photography.
On Friday 26th April 2024 Ruth Davey and Neil Gibson will host the 2nd International Therapeutic Photography Symposium. This will be held online and recorded for anyone who cannot attend in real time. Tickets will be available from December 2023 (Free).
This years theme will be “Phenomenological Photography – focusing on you to develop the self”
We are now inviting submissions for presentations. We have had some excellent submissions so far so this promises to be an eclectic and interesting mix of presentations. If you would like to give a 10 minute presentation at the symposium on a project you are working on, a technique you have used to good effect, or you just want to share good practice, then please submit a very short proposal (no more than 200 words) outlining your presentation idea. Every proposal will be considered, and we are really looking for variety, so please use this opportunity to celebrate the diverse approaches that these techniques encourage. Proposals should be e mailed to Neil Gibson at n.gibson@rgu.ac.uk by the end of November 2023.
We will inform successful applicants in due course and the expectation would be that presenters would pre-record their submissions for playing at the symposium, and be present at the event to answer questions for the live audience.
We look forward to hearing from any eager presenters, and are happy to answer any questions via e mail (n.gibson@rgu.ac.uk) and support you through the process.
It’s been a busy few weeks and my 10 week online facilitator training course is underway with some excellent participants, discussions, and (of course) images! So, the vodcasts are taking a bit of a back seat, but more to come! Here’s one where I talk about adding structure when using these techniques…enjoy!
This week I dive into an introductory technique that I use with groups, and one which is equally as effective when using these techniques on yourself. I demonstrate the “take, show, say, identity” steps of exploration on an image that I love.
In my next vodcast I ask “is therapeutic photography therapy?”
It can be a really useful thing to consider when you are facilitating groups and you are considering your own knowledge base, professional background, and experience.
I have been working on a series of short vodcasts to explain and explore Therapeutic Photography. These are FREE to watch and the aim is to raise awareness of this beneficial approach by providing insight into various aspects of these techniques. In the first vodcast I attempt to answer one of the biggest questions…what is Therapeutic Photography?
I am sharing some feedback I received for the inaugural run of my 10 week online skills based course on Therapeutic Photography.
This was the first one I have delivered since leaving Robert Gordon University last year where I designed and delivered the Post Graduate course on this topic. It was fantastic to be back in action with some very enthusiastic, knowledgeable, skilled, and passionate students.
I still have some space on my September course, and I will also be announcing new dates for 2026 soon. For more information, please visit my website at https://therapeuticphotography.uk/eventsactivity/
I am sharing an amazing new free resource made available by Tiffany Fairey and Ingrid Guyon which focuses on how photography can be used to foster peace, dialogue and non-violent civil resistance.
Sharing a link for a podcast I recorded recently. Sophia Elle interviewed me for her programme, Creative Therapy, on all things Therapeutic Photography. It was an interesting chat, and free to listen to at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmKTHKZbajE
I’m delighted to announce that I have been invited to run a workshop, and to be involved in a discussion event, at the upcoming Healing Through Photography conference in April. The event 2 years ago was a fantastic opportunity to learn and share with this growing community, and I am sure this will be equally as vibrant and informative.
Therapeutic Photography 