One-Year Professional Training in Therapeutic Photography and Phototherapeutic Approaches and Techniques
Type of Programme: Premium Professional Training Programme 2027
Duration and Format:
Six in-person training blocks, supported by ongoing self-study, practical assignments, and professional guidance throughout 2027.
Training Format:
Primarily in-person, complemented by invited expert lectures delivered online by international lecturers.
Who Is the Programme For:
The programme is designed for psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, other helping professionals, and photographers.
A minimum of a Master’s degree is required for admission; the field of study is not restricted. Admission is subject to a preliminary interview.
Students enrolled in selected Master’s degree programmes may be considered for admission following an individual assessment during the admission interview with the programme’s academic director / lead trainer.
Programme Overview
A comprehensive professional training programme focused on the use of photography in psychotherapy, psychosocial practice, and of therapeutic photographic approaches in professional photographic practice.
The programme systematically integrates phototherapy and therapeutic photography, providing psychotherapists, psychologists, and other helping professionals with comprehensive competencies for incorporating photography as a highly effective communication and visualisation tool into their professional practice.
At the same time, the programme is designed for professional photographers who wish to use photography as a means of supporting psychological well-being, self-exploration, and personal change, and who wish to incorporate therapeutic photography into their professional practice.
Total Contact Hours:
100 hours of in-person training. This does not include self-study, individual experiential work, essays, or supervision.
Invited online lectures by international experts will take place in addition to the core 100-hour programme and are included in the training fee.
Schedule
The in-person component will consist of six weekend training sessions, held approximately once a month during the following periods:
March, April, May, September, October, and November 2027
The specific dates of each weekend will be confirmed by the end of 2026.
The programme is structured as a year-long professional training process, allowing participants to integrate the theoretical, experiential, and practical components gradually throughout 2027.
Programme Structure
Each of the six core training blocks includes:
- THEORY AND PHOTOTHERAPEUTIC METHODOLOGY
- GROUP PHOTOTHERAPEUTIC EXPERIENTIAL WORK
- PHOTOTHERAPEUTIC PRACTICE
Total: 100 contact hours
In addition:
- Individual phototherapeutic experiential work – assigned for independent practice
- Guided literature-based self-study – based on the recommended reading list and supported through supervision
Location
The training will take place in Prague at:
Starostřešovická 96, Prague 6, Czech Republic
The venue has a private garden and free on-site parking.
Participant Requirements
No prior photographic skills are required. A mobile phone is sufficient for photographic work and visual documentation within the programme.
The group is intentionally designed as an interdisciplinary cohort combining psychotherapists and photographers, creating opportunities for mutual learning and professional growth in both therapeutic and visual practice.
The programme works with and teaches three primary areas of photographic material:
- Photographs created in the present (predominant)
- Photographs from family albums
- Photographs from mobile photo diaries, which increasingly serve as a contemporary equivalent of traditional photo albums
The programme places the greatest emphasis on photographs created specifically within the therapeutic or experiential process.
Core Training Modules
Module 1: Theoretical and Ethical Foundations of Therapeutic Photography and Phototherapy
Theoretical foundations, key concepts, ethical principles, and professional frameworks for the use of photography in therapeutic and psychosocial contexts.
Module 2: Consciousness, Emotion and Mental Imagery
Therapeutic work with emotions and mental imagery through photography.
Module 3: Trauma and Photography
The role of photography in trauma tracing, processing, integration, and healing.
Module 4: Self-Image and Identity in the Context of Psychosocial Development
Photography as a highly effective tool for working with self-image, identity formation, and the development and consolidation of the sense of self.
Module 5: Integrating Phototherapeutic Approaches and Therapeutic Photography into Selected Psychotherapeutic Modalities, Photography in Prevention and Mental health Care
For photographers, this module also focuses on the practical integration of therapeutic photography into professional photographic practice.
Module 6: Applications of Therapeutic Photography and Phototherapy in Clinical and Social Practice
Phototherapeutic techniques for selected mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions, as well as approaches for working with specific client populations.
A detailed outline of the content of each training block will be provided to participants upon enrolment.
Tuition Fee
Early Bird Fee:
EUR 2,700 – payment received by 31 December 2026
Standard Fee:
EUR 3,000 – payment from 1 January 2027 onwards
The training fee may be paid in instalments.
The programme may also be funded by an employer or through grant funding.
Individual Consultations
As part of the programme, each participant is entitled to two individual 45-minute consultations, delivered either online or in person, during the course of the training.
Additional consultations beyond this included allowance are charged separately.
Supervision of Phototherapeutic Work with Clients
Supervision of client work for psychotherapists is not included in the training programme.
Supervision is provided separately, outside the framework of the training, and is charged independently.
Learning Outcomes
Benefits for Psychotherapists and Other Helping Professionals
Upon completion of the programme, participants will:
- develop comprehensive competencies for using photography as a supportive communication and therapeutic tool in psychotherapy and psychosocial practice;
- learn how to safely integrate phototherapeutic techniques into their existing therapeutic orientation;
- expand their repertoire of interventions with visual methods supporting work with emotions, identity, autobiographical memory, and clients’ subjective experience;
- acquire techniques for using photography to explore self-image, life narratives, personal identity, and significant life events;
- develop a deeper understanding of the possibilities and limitations of working with photography in the context of trauma, including indications, contraindications, and ethical considerations;
- learn to use photography as a means of externalisation, reflection, and facilitation of therapeutic dialogue;
- acquire practical tools for supporting clients’ independent work between therapy sessions;
- become familiar with applications of photography when working with diverse client populations, including neurodivergent clients and people experiencing trauma or serious illness;
- deepen their own experiential understanding through working with photography, which may contribute to a more profound understanding of the processes experienced by clients;
- develop a clear ethical framework for using photography in clinical and psychosocial practice and for interdisciplinary collaboration with other professionals.
Benefits for Photographers
Upon completion of the programme, photographers will:
- develop a professional understanding of the principles of therapeutic photography and their safe application outside the scope of psychotherapy;
- learn how to create a photographic process that supports trust, self-exploration, and authentic self-expression;
- expand their photographic services through approaches focused on supporting clients’ self-image, self-acceptance, self-confidence, and psychological well-being;
- acquire techniques for working with newly created photographs, family photographs, and mobile photographic diaries;
- gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between photography, emotions, identity, autobiographical memory, and personal narratives;
- learn to recognise the boundaries of their professional role as photographers, the ethical limits of working with sensitive topics, and situations in which referral to psychotherapy is appropriate;
- develop the ability to guide clients through a sensitive and structured photographic process rather than simply producing portraits;
- enrich their own creative practice through an experiential dimension and new approaches to working with images;
- gain inspiration for working with diverse client populations and specific client needs;
- become part of an interdisciplinary community of photographers and psychotherapists, facilitating mutual inspiration, experience-sharing, and professional development.
Certification
A Certificate of Completion will be awarded upon fulfilment of all programme requirements.
To successfully complete the programme and receive the certificate, participants must:
- attend 100% of the 100 contact hours delivered across the six core training blocks;
- complete the assigned experiential exercises;
- complete the required essays;
- complete the final written project.
If a participant is unable to attend one training block for serious reasons, a replacement may be permitted at the discretion of the programme director.
A missed block may only be completed during the following cohort of the programme, and a maximum of one of the six core training blocks may be replaced in this way.
Enquiries About the Programme
For all enquiries regarding the training programme, please contact the Programme Director:
RNDr. Ivana Dostálová, Ph.D., PGCert
Email: ivana@muphotosci.org
Tel.: +420 603 389 220
APPLICATIONS
If you are interested in applying for the programme, please contact the Programme Director:
RNDr. Ivana Dostálová, Ph.D., PGCert
Email: ivana@muphotosci.org
Tel.: +420 603 389 220
Academic Director, Programme Founder, Lead Trainer and Principal Lecturer: RNDr. Ivana Dostálová, Ph.D., PGCert
Professional Profile
Certified Specialist in Therapeutic Photography; Therapist specialising in integrative and phototherapeutic approaches; Neurobiologist; Clinical Scientist with over 10 years of experience in university hospitals; Psychotherapy Trainee in an accredited integrative psychotherapy programme for healthcare professionals, with a focus on comprehensive interdisciplinary treatment and eating disorders at the First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University.
- Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Therapeutic Photography, School of Applied Social Studies, Robert Gordon University, UK
- Professional training in Mindful Photography (Look Again, UK)
- Professional training in Positive Brain Neuroplasticity (UC Berkeley), approaches to positive neuroplasticity informed by the work of psychologist Dr. Rick Hanson, Ph.D., and other related areas
- Psychotherapist: in training five-year accredited psychotherapy training programme in Integrative Psychotherapy for Healthcare, defined as an approach in which the therapist integrates hypotheses, skills, and techniques from different theoretical perspectives and develops a therapeutic plan according to the individual needs of each client.
Academic Supervisor: Prof. MUDr. Hana Papežová, CSc., psychiatrist, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University
Supervisor of the Experiential Component: Mgr. Jan Kulhánek, psychologist and psychotherapist - 10+ years of photographic therapeutic experiential practice, comprising more than 500 hours of experiential work
- 10+ years of photographic therapeutic practice, encompassing professional photographic work as well as an ongoing photographic relationship with more than 200 people and a daily photographic relationship with herself and the world around her. Here, photographic relationship refers to an individual, non-commercial photographic process resulting in personally meaningful and in-depth photographic work
- One year of supervised photographic self-therapeutic experiential practice under the supervision of Dr. Neil Gibson, Ph.D., Robert Gordon University
- Visual research: tens of thousands of photographs created as part of ongoing visual research
- Ph.D. in neurobiology and physiology
- 10+ specialization in neuroendocrinology
- 10+ years of professional photographic practice, including psychological portraiture, self-portraiture, and projects exploring humanity, the self, identity, introspection, and the cultivation of deeper insight, compassion, authentic values, and messages of peace, kindness, and love in society and the media. Her work also explores philosophical perspectives within visual photographic storytelling.
- 10+ years of experience as a clinical scientist, specialising in neuroendocrinology, including more than 10 years of clinical experience working with patients with eating disorders
- Ongoing professional development and education: Continually engaged in further professional development and personal growth. She lectures and presents at Czech and international professional conferences, provides training in visual techniques for psychotherapists and psychologists, and educates the wider public through lectures, interviews, and other educational formats.
- Contemplative visual practices: 7+ years of meditation, visual meditation and contemplative photography practice
RNDr. Ivana Dostálová, Ph.D., PGCert.
Ivana Dostálová is a Czech photographer, researcher, clinical scientist, and therapist specialising in phototherapeutic and integrative approaches. Her photographic practice has long explored the relationships between photography, consciousness, identity, trauma, subjective experience, and mental health.
In 2023, she became one of the first people in the world to obtain the Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Therapeutic Photography from Robert Gordon University, Scotland; at the time, she was the only holder of this qualification in the Czech Republic.
She has 15+ years of experience in photographic introspection and therapeutic photography, 10+ years of experience in clinical science, and 10+ years of international experience as a consultant and photographer. She has been devoted to the development of innovative methodologies, including those in mental health. She has been teaching, lecturing, and mentoring psychotherapists and photographers in therapeutic photography and phototherapeutic techniques for many years. She is currently developing methodological workbooks designed for specific client populations.
Her professional and research interests include neuroendocrinology, neurobiology, and the pathophysiology of eating disorders, as well as clinical research and the implementation of photographic and visual methods in therapeutic and research settings. Her primary current research focus is photography as an imaging method in neuroscience and the development of a biological saturation model of consciousness.
She studied Biology at Charles University in Prague, where she received her Master’s degree (Mgr.) in 2003, followed by the Czech Doctor of Natural Sciences degree (RNDr.). She subsequently completed doctoral studies in Biomedicine, specialising in Neurobiology and Physiology, at Charles University, receiving her Ph.D. in 2006.
During her studies, she completed state examinations in neurobiology, physiology, and general biology. As part of her doctoral studies, she completed doctoral state examinations in neurobiology and physiology and also holds a doctoral state examination in immunology. Her Master’s thesis, doctoral qualifying thesis, and Ph.D. dissertation all focused on neuroendocrinology and the pathophysiology of eating disorders.
She has completed a number of specialised professional programmes and obtained additional certifications, including training in clinical microdialysis at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and professional education in positive neuroplasticity at the University of California, Berkeley.
In 2025, international publishing house Snap Collective published her monograph Imagery of Being, a visual study and reflection on consciousness. The book has been included in the library collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague and the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen.
She has received numerous international photography awards, including two awards from the World Photography Organisation (Sony World Photography Awards) and seventeen awards from the International Photography Awards™ (IPA).
Assistant Trainer and Facilitator: MgA. Anna Veronika Křížová, Dis.
Photographer, visual artist and educator whose work brings together subjective documentary photography, visual narrative, and the therapeutic potential of photography.
“For me, photography is an encounter ~ the art of seeing, perceiving, and sharing.”
Education and Professional Experience
- MA and BA in Fine Arts (Photography), Institute of Creative Photography, Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, Silesian University in Opava
- DiS. in Book Design and Graphic Design, Higher Vocational School of Graphic Arts, Prague
- Secondary education in Multimedia Photography, Secondary School of Graphic Arts, Prague
- Six-month individual professional training in Therapeutic Photography and Phototherapy Approaches and Techniques, under the supervision of RNDr. Ivana Dostálová, Ph.D., PGCert
- Therapeutic Photography: An Introduction, University of Oxford, Dr Graham Wilson
- Six-month individual residential photography internship and mentoring programme with British photographer and therapist Siân Davey
- Several years of teaching experience in photography, visual arts, and theoretical professional subjects
- Long-term individual mentoring and artistic guidance of adolescents
- Professional artistic practice focusing on subjective documentary photography, mental health, lived experience, and a contemplative relationship with the world
- FotoSlovo 2025 — Gold Medal, Analog Series
- Pokoje 2025 — Grand Prize of the Professional Jury and Audience Award
MgA. Anna Veronika Křížová, DiS.
Anna Veronika Křížová is a Czech photographer, visual artist, and educator. Her artistic practice is rooted primarily in photography, which she combines with multimedia approaches, object-based work, and artist’s books. She has a long-standing focus on subjective documentary photography and photographic narrative. In her ongoing project 21g, she explores the subject of mental health and the duality of vulnerability and inner strength.
She studied Creative Photography at the Institute of Creative Photography, Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, Silesian University in Opava, where she obtained both her BcA. and MgA. degrees. In her master’s thesis, The Soul and Mental Health Through the Lens of Photography, she brought together photographic art with perspectives from psychology, philosophy, and neurobiology. Her subsequent professional and artistic work has focused on the role of photography in mental health care and its potential for self-exploration, communication, destigmatisation, and therapeutic applications.
In her teaching practice, she teaches photography, visual arts, and theoretical professional subjects, and has also been providing long-term individual artistic mentoring and guidance to adolescents. She approaches photography as an art of seeing, perceiving, and sharing. Through her teaching and mentoring, she creates space for authentic expression, attentive listening, and sensitive encounters with oneself and others.
In the field of therapeutic photography and phototherapeutic approaches, she completed a six-month individual professional training programme under the supervision of RNDr. Ivana Dostálová, Ph.D., PGCert, as well as Therapeutic Photography: An Introduction at the University of Oxford, taught by Dr Graham Wilson. Her photographic practice has also been shaped by a six-month individual residential photography internship and mentoring programme with British photographer Siân Davey.
Motto
“Let us listen to our own souls and to the souls of others. Let us perceive them and care for them. Let us choose kindness ~ always.”
