EFFECTS OF PHOTOGRAPHY AS A THERAPEUTIC TOOL ON THE PERCEPTION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING IN STUDENTS FROM A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN NUEVO LEÓN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37354/rpsiso.2025.7.1.053Keywords:
psychological well-being, university students, therapeutic photographyAbstract
Psychological well-being is an essential component of university students' academic and personal performance, as it helps to reduce levels of stress, anxiety and depression. However, the academic, social and family demands of this stage can negatively affect their emotional balance. Therapeutic photography has been proposed as a creative tool that facilitates emotional expression, self-knowledge and reflection. The objective of this study was to analyze changes in the perception of psychological well-being before and after a therapeutic photography intervention. A t-test of matched samples was applied in order to identify significant differences between the two measurement times. The results showed a slight increase in mean post-intervention well-being; however, this difference was not statistically significant (t = -1,143, p = .267). Even so, the participants reported a subjectively positive experience, highlighting that the creative process and the elaboration of the final collage favored introspection and understanding of relevant personal aspects. Although the quantitative data did not show significant changes, a positive trend in well-being and a favourable assessment of the intervention were identified. These findings suggest that therapeutic photography may be an accessible and meaningful tool to promote emotional self-exploration. Future research with larger samples, more sessions and a complementary qualitative approach is recommended.
Downloads
References
Akhtar, H., Khalid, R. y Sheikh, A. (2023). Introducing the psychological wellbeing scale for Muslim youth: Psychometric properties of the short (18-item) form. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 26(2), 115–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2022.2139364 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2022.2139364
Arroyave Correa, H. M. (2022). La fototerapia como herramienta de bienestar después del confinamiento por COVID-19 en estudiantes universitarios, caso Uninpahu. Diálogos Interdisciplinarios en Red, 10(10), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.34893/rediir.v10i10.463 DOI: https://doi.org/10.34893/rediir.v10i10.463
Damaso Menacho, R. A. (2023). La fotografía como herramienta terapéutica en estudiantes universitarios. (Tesis de Licenciatura, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas). Repositorio UPC. http://hdl.handle.net/10757/672178
Delgado Domínguez, C., Rodríguez Barraza, A., Lagunes Córdoba, R. y Vázquez Martínez, F. D. (2020). Bienestar psicológico en médicos residentes de una universidad pública en México. Universitas Médica, 61(2). https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.umed61-2.bpsi DOI: https://doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.umed61-2.bpsi
Díaz, D., Rodríguez-Carvajal, R., Blanco, A., Moreno-Jiménez, B., Gallardo, I., Valle, C. y van Dierendonck, D. (2006). Adaptación española de las escalas de bienestar psicológico de Ryff. Psicothema, 18(3), 572–577. https://www.psicothema.com/pi?pii=3255
García, D., Nima, A. A. y Kjell, O. N. E. (2023). The 18-item Swedish version of Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale: Dimensionality, reliability, and measurement invariance. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1208300. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1208300 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1208300
Guerreiro, C., Meine, I. R., Vestena, L. T., Silveira, L. de A., Preuss da Silva, M. y Guazina, F. M. N. (2022). Art in the context of promoting mental health in Brazil. Research, Society and Development, 11(4), e27811422106. https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v11i4.22106 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v11i4.22106
Java Balanovsky, D. (2024). Fotografía terapéutica y oncología. Los beneficios de la comunicación expresiva en pacientes crónicos. Cuadernos Del Centro De Estudios De Diseño Y Comunicación, (221). https://doi.org/10.18682/cdc.vi221.11164 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18682/cdc.vi221.11164
Joschko, R., Klatte, C., Grabowska, W. A., Roll, S., Berghöfer, A., y Willich, S. N. (2024). Active Visual Art Therapy and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Network Open, 7(9), e2428709. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.28709 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.28709
Lee, L. H., Chiang, H. Y. y Chen, M. Y. (2019). Development and validation of the short-form Mandarin version of Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scales. Journal of Nursing Research, 27(4), e39. https://doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000303 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jmedsci.jmedsci_191_18
Martínez-Azumendi, O. (2016). La fotografía como instrumento terapéutico en salud mental. Átopos. Salud mental, comunidad y cultura, 17, 66-83. https://www.atopos.es/index.php/component/content/article?id=228
Parrales Villagómez, S. S., y Villagómez Oviedo, C. P. (2022). La intervención de las emociones en la percepción del arte con el uso de tecnología. Jóvenes en la Ciencia, 16, 1-13. https://www.jovenesenlaciencia.ugto.mx/index.php/jovenesenlaciencia/article/view/3746
Ryff, C.D. y Keyes, C. L. (1995). Una revisión de la estructura del bienestar psicológico. Revista de Personalidad y Psicología Social, 69(4), 719–727. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719
Saita, E., y Tramontano, M. (2018). Navigating the complexity of the therapeutic and clinical use of photography in psychosocial settings: a review of the literature. Research in Psychotherapy: Psychopathology, Process and Outcome, 21(1), 293. https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2018.293 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/ripppo.2018.293
Tibubos, A. N., Ernst, M. y Brähler, E. (2025). Psychological indicators for healthy aging: Validation of the German short version (18-item) of Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being. Aging & Mental Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-025-00854-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41687-025-00854-9
Vaartio-Rajalin, H., Santamäki-Fischer, R., Jokisalo, P., y Fagerström, L. (2020). Art making and expressive art therapy in adult health and nursing care: A scoping review. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 8(1), 102–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2020.09.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2020.09.011
Zeini, M., Khaksar, E. y Balochi Anaraki, M. (2017). The Effectiveness of Art Therapy (Storytelling, Photography and Painting) Based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Nail Biting. Quarterly Journal of Child Mental Health, 4(1), 129–138. http://childmentalhealth.ir/article-1-151-en.html
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 PsicoSophia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
