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Q&A with Katy Hanlon: Photovoice and Recovery
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Steacy, Alexander
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Description: Katy Hanlon of the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) Technical Assistance Center discusses her experience with Photovoice. It is a program designed to empower people in recovery from mental disorders using the arts, offered at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. The HRC’s Alexander Steacy chats with Katy Hanlon to learn more her participation as a student and course assistant during a recent Boston University Photovoice course.
Content:

Q: How does Photovoice impact people who are in recovery?

Individuals in recovery often feel powerless to express their experience to their families and communities. This can lead to feelings of isolation. Photovoice uses photos and narratives to give a voice to people in recovery. It helps empower marginalized individuals and their community.

Q: How does Photovoice work?

The Photovoice process is very much a group process. For the first few weeks of the semester, the group meets as a whole to discuss the process of Photovoice and the specific topic of the class. Then, participants take photographs and start to work on personal narratives representing their feelings and experiences. They meet in small groups to share and provide feedback on their narratives.

This process brings people together into community—an empowered recovery community. For example, in the Photovoice course program I participated in, one of the topics was “Picturing My Health.” We confronted questions such as:
  • What is health?
  • What does health mean to an individual?
  • What does health mean specifically to the recovery community?
Participants spend the remainder of the course in small and large group discussions to understand the broader meaning of how their photographs and narratives confronted these questions. We asked how our work could be used to bring about community awareness and education. We organized a exhibit at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation and recorded our narratives as part of a national conference presentation.

Q: How did your team organize the Photovoice program?

I was both a student and a course assistant at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. We worked with the support of a full syllabus to guide the course. You can find great basic information on the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation website. Photovoice is a technique used around the world and can be done informally and with limited technology. All you need is a basic disposable camera and a pen.

Q: What was the best part of the experience?

It was an incredible experience to work with others who are part of the recovery community to help develop our stories. During the Photovoice course, I had the chance to grow and learn from others. At the end of the project we discussed how we could use our work to share about recovery with our communities and policy makers. The whole experience was incredibly empowering.

Q: What would you recommend to organizations trying to establish a Photovoice program?

First, I would suggest visiting the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation website, where you can watch a powerful eight-minute video on Photovoice and serious mental illness, and stigma. Then, I would suggest reaching out to existing Photovoice programs to get ideas for successful practices.The beauty of Photovoice is its simplicity. Everyone has a story and a voice. With a camera and a paper and a pen, that voice will come though. The Photovoice experience not only had had a large impact on my recovery but also on how I look at recovery. I know it will do the same for others.

To learn more about Photovoice, visit the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation website

To read the book, Voices of Recovery, visit the center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation’s Products and Publications web page

Check out the "Related Items" to the right of the screen.
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Type of Resource: HRC Resource
Organization: SAMHSA
Publication Date: 2010
Location: Rockville, MD
Phone: 617-467-6014
Steven Samra from Nashville
July 30, 2010
6:34 AM
 
I first heard about Photovoice a couple of years ago when I saw a fascinating presentation on youth homelessness at an annual psychiatric conference. I've since followed the effort and have even kicked around the idea of working with a local photojournalist here in Nashville. There is an additional resource available that provides a very helpful toolkit, as well as some wonderful examples.


   
 
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