In the fields of community work and social work, photovoice (Wang & Burris, 1997), widely used in action research, is a participatory approach aimed at empowering individuals and specific groups through "voicing" their experiences. This study adapts its methods to conduct image-based narrative groups for depressed adolescents, using the social practice process as research material to investigate the core function of depression transformation during narrative. The study finds that the "folds interpretation" can effectively explain the core function of image narrative. Cristal Huang (2010), integrating Paul Ricoeur's theory of time and narrative with Gilles Deleuze's concept of folds, presents another framework for researching images. Viewing images as unfolding folds, every object within an image can be utilized by the protagonist to represent and overlap with its own life and the current image. The protagonist thus unfolds "imaginary" internal folds through the use of time and narrative. Images are objects with folds and traces, and each narrator draws out his or her history and memories through his or her narrative. This theoretical approach interweaves time, narrative, and life, providing an opportunity to rewrite the future. It intersects with the critical view of Fred Newman (1991) that "Nothing is lost here in history. All kinds of things are lost in society, but nothing is lost in history," and "history cure depression." Therefore, this study suggests that image-based narrative in therapeutic work can be situated within an interpretive, social therapeutic, and praxis-oriented methodology, distinct from the photovoice approach.

Authors:
Cheng-Pin Lai, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan
Kuan-I Li, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan
Shih-Ming Chen, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Lai Cheng-Pin is an Assistant Professor in Fu Jen Catholic University's Psychology Department, actively engaged in two research projects funded by the National Science and Technology Council and the Ministry of Education.

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