Reviving Reality with Imagination: Pinhole Photovoice for Adolescent Mental Health in Iraqi Kurdistan

Abstract Internally displaced people (IDP) in Iraq are 1.2 million (as of March 2023). Protracted refugee status endangers the mental health, especially of minorities who survived persecution and conflict, such as the Yazidis. Among the IDP in Iraq, the majority live in Iraqi Kurdistan and 21.4% reside in the governorate of Dohuk, which currently hosts 15 camps. Redlab is a civil society organization that uses photography workshops based on the pinhole technique. It is the ‘degree zero’ of photography, defined as the most synthetic way of conceiving the photographic process. The results obtained thanks to this technique are photos with a high degree of undefiniteness and a high tendency towards metaphorical interpretation and self-reflection, tools that are apt to stimulate reflection and reasoning on the themes taken into consideration on each occasion. The session, by reporting on RedLab's experience in 2023 in the Bajed Kandala camp in Iraqi Kurdistan, will explore how this technique can have an impact on the mental health of young adolescents in terms of promoting social-emotional skills. We will focus on how, by extending the already well-known photovoice technique through the use of pinholes, it is possible to promote self-narration and expression and through group work improve active listening and a sense of community. All these elements are fundamental for the promotion of mental health. Finally, the results of a needs assessment carried out by focus groups (FGD) prior to the RedLab workshops will be reported. In these FGDs, the mental health needs of the adolescents in the Bajed Kandala camp were explored. Community stigma and self-stigma emerged as two still important factors preventing the achievement of mental well-being. Alongside these, a gender gap in mental health was identified during the FGDs.