Premium
The use of photography in perceiving a sense in life: A phenomenological and existential approach in Mental Health Care
Author(s) -
Sitvast Jan E.,
Springer William
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nursing philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.367
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1466-769X
pISSN - 1466-7681
DOI - 10.1111/nup.12287
Subject(s) - existentialism , experiential learning , perception , phenomenology (philosophy) , psychology , mental health , experiential knowledge , psychotherapist , interpretation (philosophy) , photography , mental health care , epistemology , visual arts , computer science , pedagogy , art , philosophy , neuroscience , programming language
This article is about the therapeutic use of photography in mental health care. We will first describe the intelligent nature of perception as we understand on the basis of neurobiological research findings. We will link our interpretation of visual perception with the phenomenology of perception from the theory of Merleau‐Ponty.. Then we will discuss how patients in mental health care with mental health problems may profit by an experiential approach that is concomitant with the existential reality described by Merleau‐Ponty. The experiential approach we go into more detail is Focusing. We will demonstrate the limitations and feasibility of Focusing in the procedures of working with photography as a therapeutic medium.