STAT

Photos, even selfies, have the power to heal

Photographs that establish an "I-Thou" relationship between the photographer and the subject can have immense healing power.

It is easy to deride “selfies” and the scads of photos that people today often compulsively take and share with their cellphones. But let’s not write them all off as meaningless. As I’ve seen in my parents’ remarkable journey from the doomed Jewish ghetto in Lodz, Poland, and in my psychiatry practice, photographs have immense power to heal.

My parents grew up in Lodz, which then was home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe. On Feb. 8, 1940, the Nazis . My father, Abraham Bursztajn, was condemned to be part of a sanitation crew called the

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from STAT

STAT2 min read
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About Sanofi Licensing Novavax’s Covid Shot, Moderna’s RSV Vaccine, And More
Sanofi said it has reached a licensing deal to sell Novavax’s Covid shot as well as to try to combine the vaccine with Sanofi’s own flu vaccine.
STAT2 min read
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About BIO’s China Challenge, Zepbound Shortages, And More
BIO's about-face in its relationship with WuXi AppTec illustrates the difficulty the biotech industry faces in dealing with an issue that is moving fast and forcefully.
STAT2 min read
STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re Reading About A Boy Dying In Pfizer Trial; AstraZeneca Yanking Covid Shot, And More
A young boy died in a clinical trial for an experimental Pfizer gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, about a year after receiving the therapy.

Related Books & Audiobooks