Judy Weiser defines what a self-portrait is in relation to therapeutic photography:

"Photos of a person, taken by themselves without any outside interference (i.e., "self-portraits"), let them explore who they are when they know no one else is there watching, judging the results, or attempting to control the process. Since issues connected to self-esteem, self-knowledge, self-confidence, and self-acceptance lie at the core of most clients' problems, being able to see themselves for themselves, un-filtered by the input or feedback of others, can be a very powerful and therapeutically beneficial encounter."

Cristina Nuñez  http://www.self-portrait.eu/home/

In order to create an emotive self-portrait I looked at the work of Cristina Nuñez, who is a self-taught portrait photographer. She started working on self-portraits in 1988. After five years of heroin addiction and decided to embark on an inner search using her camera. The act of creating a photograph was used to express her feelings of inadequacy and to resolve difficult issues. She uses her own method, “The Self-Portrait Experience”,(which I have used as a guide for my own work) to explore her identity and relationships, and to initiate a dialogue between the thinking mind and as she explains-the“guts”.

Self portrait of Cristina Nunez

“A picture is worth a thousand words, creating a plethora of narratives with which clients may begin to re-story and re-frame their self- identity and their overall journey in life...” (Drama As Therapy: Clinical Work and Research Into Practice) Linsay Chipman