Cultural heritage as a therapeutic space: the impact of photography and life stories on the well-being of people with mental illness

Abstract

Mental health disorders often hinder the recognition of identity, social interaction, and pose other significant challenges. This article presents the results of the workshop Memories in the City: Connecting with Our Identity, which involved individuals with various mental health diagnoses in a heritage education program. The objective of this program was to promote identity recognition and enhance social interaction through the use of photography, life stories, and personal narratives, integrating a website and a mobile application to create communities and serve as digital repositories for storing and sharing these stories. The city served as the main setting for the intervention, becoming a close and accessible environment for learning, with cultural heritage as the central focus.

The intervention took place at the Veinte Metros Day Center of the INTRAS Foundation in the city of Valladolid. The results showed improvements in the emotional well-being of the participants and the social connections within the group. Additionally, the users learned about both urban heritage and their own life stories, which helped them recognize their identities more. In this way, heritage education acts as a tool that helps in identity recovery through rediscovery and understanding of personal stories, memories, and experiences. This approach not only promotes social inclusion but also strengthens the bonds among participants, contributing to the overall well-being of vulnerable groups