VISUAL LITERACY

Visual literacy = the skill of understanding what images do to us: how framing, light, colour, rhythm, and symbol shape what we feel and think.

Why it matters for mental health:

• Many people feel in images before they can speak in words.
• If you can read an image, you can better track your own state, name your needs, and co-regulate with others.
• Image skills make no-talk methods (like Symbolic Splicing) safer and more effective.

Five fast principles

Framing = Focus

• Tight frame = intensity/pressure.
• Wide frame = context/space to breathe.
• Use: When stressed, mentally “zoom out.” Ask: What else is in the frame I’m ignoring?

Angle = Power

• Low angle looking up = power/threat.
• High angle looking down = vulnerability/smallness.
• Use: Notice when your inner camera tilts. Adjust posture or environment to rebalance.

Light = Mood Regulation

• Hard light/shadow = sharp contrast, vigilance.
• Soft light = safety/soothing.
• Use: Micro-intervention: step to a softer light source; lower contrast to settle arousal.

Pacing = Nervous System

• Fast cuts = activation, urgency.
• Long takes = settling, reflection.
• Use: Slow the “edit” of your day. Single-task. Extend exhales. Longer “takes,” fewer “cuts.”

Symbol = Shortcut to Meaning

• Doors, bridges, water, thresholds, sky… common symbols carry shared emotional weight.
• Use: Ask, What symbol keeps showing up in my head lately? That’s data.

The Visual Literacy x Mental Health Literacy Bridge

Visual literacy skills help you do key mental health tasks:

A quick “image check” before you talk

Use this when you can’t find words:

1. Snapshot: If this feeling were a picture, what would it be?
2. Frame it: Tight or wide? Inside or outside? Alone or with someone?
3. Light it: Bright/soft? Harsh/gentle?
4. Angle it: Above/below/eye level?
5. Move it: What single change (more space, softer light, slower pace) helps right now?

You just translated state → image → small action.

Reading images in others (without mind-reading)

• Describe, don’t decide: “I notice the image is dark and tight,” (not “you seem depressed”).
• Ask consent for meaning: “Does that fit for you, or not really?”
• Stay with the image: “If this frame could change 10%, what would help?”
• Let them own the symbol: No forced interpretation.

A tiny glossary

• Frame: What’s included/excluded.
• Angle: Where you’re viewing from (power/vulnerability).
• Composition: How parts relate (balance/imbalance).
• Contrast: Difference between elements (tension/clarity).
• Pacing: Speed of change (cuts vs. holds).
• Motif/Symbol: A repeating image with felt meaning.

Everyday visual practices (5 minutes or less)

1. Three Frames Walk
   • Take three photos: tight/medium/wide of the same scene.
   • Note how your body changes with each.
   • Mental health link: teaches cognitive reframing somatically.
2. Angle Audit
   • Photograph the same object from above, eye level, below.
   • Label each: vulnerable / balanced / powerful.
   • Link: boundary awareness without a single debate.
3. Light Shift
   • Move from harsh overhead light to window/soft lamp.
   • Rate stress before/after (0–10).
   • Link: environmental nervous system hygiene.
4. One-Minute Long Take
   • Film 60 seconds of stillness (no cuts). Watch it.
   • Link: trains tolerance for slower pacing → better self-soothing.
5. Symbol Spotting
   • End of day: jot the top image that stayed with you (door, road, water, ladder).
   • Ask: What next small step does this symbol suggest?
   • Link: action from meaning, not from pressure.

(If cameras are restricted, do these as drawings or mental images.)

Ethical guardrails (for real-world use)

• Privacy first: Avoid identifiable faces/places when practicing in carceral or clinical contexts.
• No forced interpretation: Symbols can remain private.
• Dose the intensity: If an image spikes distress, shrink exposure (shorter viewing, softer light, wider frame), then regroup.
• Integrate, don’t replace: Visual literacy complements — not replaces — medical/therapeutic care.

Remember...

You don’t need perfect words to work with hard feelings. You need a way to see them, shape them, and make one small change to the frame you’re in.

Pictures before words.
Safety before story.
Meaning before explanation.

That’s visual literacy — and it’s how no-talk methods become real mental health tools.

Damasio, A. (1999). The feeling of what happens: Body and emotion in the making of consciousness. Harcourt.

Ekman, P. (2007). Emotions revealed: Recognizing faces and feelings to improve communication and emotional life (2nd ed.). Holt.

Frank, A. W. (2010). Letting stories breathe: A socio-narratology. University of Chicago Press.

Greenberg, L. S., Rice, L. N., & Elliott, R. (1993). Facilitating emotional change: The moment-by-moment process. Guilford Press.

Panksepp, J. (2009). Emotional feelings originate below the neocortex: Toward a neurobiology of the soul. Emotion Review, 1(3), 206–219. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073909100436

Russell, E. I. (2015). Restoring resilience: Discovering your clients’ capacity for healing. W. W. Norton & Company.