"Anjali works towards making people with psychosocial disability aware of their rights, and to make the government and civil society make the necessary shifts in attitude and practice to make these rights a reality: the right to health care and support in institutions, the right to care and support at home, the right to education and training, the right to work and earn an income; and most of all, the right to be treated with dignity as human beings, both in the institutional and social spaces." - Ratnaboli Ray, Founder.
When I started work in Feb, I was a little nervous, to say the *least*.
But over the last two months Ratna has been endlessly supportive, and we have revamped the entire project.
Initially, the idea was to hold an exhibition. The theme being relationships, between the user and the family, the institution and the family. Woven together through a narrative. However, we debated on how much impact such an exhibition could have. How much awareness could it raise? How many people can it actually effect?
Over the last 2months we have *completely* revamped the project.
So we decided to use the exhibits to design workshops around them.
We briefly considered photo therapy. When people look at art or photos they themselves created, and review the themes, messages, and emotional content unknowingly embedded in these, they are able to learn more about their own unconscious inner life. In communicating more directly with the unconscious, visual symbols permit the natural bypassing of verbal "filters" (and accompanying rationalizations, excuses, and similar protective defenses) that automatically limit clients' direct connection with powerful feelings, thoughts, and memories.
However, this would necessarily require for users to take the photos themselves.
The exhibition or workshops came later.
So we have settled on the idea of the users turning photographers. Since Photo Therapy is about photography-as-communication rather than photography-as-art, no prior experience with cameras or the photographic arts is required for effective therapeutic use.
Photo Therapy involves people interacting with their own unique visual constructions of reality (using photography more as an activating verb than as a passive/reflective noun), these techniques can be particularly successful with people for whom verbal communication is physically, mentally, or emotionally limited, socio-culturally marginalized.
Therefore Photo therapy can be especially helpful, and usually very empowering, in applications with multicultural, disabled, minority-gender, special-needs, and other similarly-complex or marginalized populations -- as well as beneficial in diversity training, conflict resolution, divorce mediation, and other related fields.
I'm speaking to the Shukla, Project Manager of the rehabilitation programme run by ANJALI in several mental health hospitals, about how and if cameras will be allowed inside. Since, ANJALI runs various other therapeutic programmes within their rehab group, it shouldn't be too difficult.
There have been many exhibits, which document the outsider's point of view. But their world from their perspective, is far more intriguing, and gives more scope for working on an awareness exhibition.
We have also decided to exhibit in public spaces and colleges and Universities.
My only concern right now is to get the cameras and start the process of taking the pictures, asap.
But that doesn't seem to be the only roadblock. Shukla,= mentioned that the authorities might frown on the idea. That's putting it mildly.
Ratna and I have been talking, and we've decided to meet with the authorities and explain the concept to them. With emphasis on therapy. We are visiting Lumbini Park Mental Hospital on the 6th for a show they are holding for the inmates. Hoping for more progress then.
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