The visual matrix: A psycho-social method for discovering unspoken complexities in social care practice

Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society volume 22, pages132–153(2017)Cite this article

Abstract

This article discusses the use of an innovative research tool, the visual matrix (VM). The VM is a tool that uses the visual imagination, expressed both verbally and in drawing, to reveal hidden or unexpressed ideas, feelings and emotions in research subjects. It is hypothesised to be of particular utility in the study of psychologically painful and/or complex situations, where normal discourse cannot find a means of expression. The VM is discussed as a method that can be applied to psycho-social research. Its use is analysed in the context of a case study in a social care organisation in Manchester.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

US$ 39.95

Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6

References

  1. Back, L. (2007) The Art of Listening. London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bion, W.R. (1962) Learning from Experience. London: Karnac.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Bion, W.R. (1967) Second Thoughts. London: Karnac.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Biran, H. (2007) The dreaming soldier. In: W.G. Lawrence (ed) Infinite Possibilities of Social Dreaming. London: Karnac, pp. 29–46.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Bollas, C. (1987) The Shadow of the Object. London: Free Association.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Clarke, S. and Hoggett, P. (2009) Researching beneath the surface: A psycho-social approach to research practice and method. In: S. Clarke and P. Hoggett (eds) Researching Beneath the Surface. London: Karnac, pp. 1–26.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Ellison, R. (1952) Invisible Man. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Ferguson, H. (2014) Researching social work practice close up: Using ethnographic and mobile methods to understand encounters between social workers, children and families. British Journal of Social Work 46(1): 153–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Foucault, M. (2000) Truth and juridical forms. In: J. D. Faubion (ed) Power: Essential Works of Foucault (Vol. 3). Translated by R. Hurley. New York: The New Press, pp. 1–89.

  10. Froggett, L. (2002) Love, Hate and Welfare: Psychosocial Approaches to Policy and Practice. Bristol: The Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Froggett, L., Manley, J. and Roy, A. (2015) The visual matrix method: Imagery and affect in a group-based research setting. FQS, http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/2308/3850, accessed 2 Feb 2016.

  12. Froggett, L., Manley, J., Roy, A., Prior, M. and Doherty, C. (2014) Cultural value. Public art and local civic engagement. Research report for the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Preston: University of Central Lancashire, http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/10961/1/AHRC_CV20RDA_TOC_FINAL_2.pdf, accessed 2 Feb 2016.

  13. Frosh, S. (2001) Psychoanalysis, identity and citizenship. In: N. Stevenson (ed) Culture and Citizenship. London: Sage, pp. 62–73.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Guillemin, M. and Gillam, L. (2004) Ethics, reflexivity and ‘ethically important moments’ in research. Qualitative Inquiry 10(2): 261–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Honneth, A. (1995) The Struggle for Recognition: The Grammar of Social Conflicts. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Hughes, J., Roy, A. and Manley, J. (2014) Surviving in Manchester: Narratives on movement from the Men’s Room. Project Report. Manchester: The Men’s Room, University of Central Lancashire, Preston and The University of Manchester, Manchester.

  17. Ingold, T. and Vergunst, J.L. (eds) (2008) Ways of Walking: Ethnography and Practice on Foot. Burlington & Hampshire: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Langer, S. (1948) Philosophy in a New Key. NY: Mentor.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Lawrence, W.G. (2005) Introduction to Social Dreaming: Transforming Thinking. London: Karnac.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Long, S. and Harney, M. (2013) The associative unconscious. In: S. Long (ed) Socioanalytic Methods: Discovering the Hidden in Organisations and Social Systems. London: Karnac, pp. 3–22.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Manley, J. (2009) When words are not enough. In: S. Clarke and P. Hoggett (eds) Researching Beneath the Surface: Psycho-social Research Methods in Practice. London: Karnac, pp. 79–98.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Manley, J. (2010) The slavery in the mind: Inhibition and exhibition. In: W.G. Lawrence (ed) The Creativity of Social Dreaming. London: Karnac, pp. 65–82.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Manley, J., Roy, A. and Froggett, L. (2015) Researching recovery from substance misuse using visual methods. In: L. Hardwick, R. Smith, and A. Worsley (eds) Innovation in Social Work Research. London: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 191–211.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Menzies-Lyth, I. (1988) Containing Anxiety in Institutions: Selected Essays (Vol. 1). London: Free Association Books.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Mersky, R.R. (2013) Social dream-drawing: ‘Drawing brings the inside out’. In S. Long (ed) Socioanalytic Methods: Discovering the Hidden in Organisations and Social Systems. London: Karnac, pp. 153–178.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Orange, D. (2010) Recognition as: intersubjective vulnerability in the psychoanalytic dialogue. International Journal of Psychoanalytic Self Psychology 5(3): 227–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Pink, S. (2007) Walking with video. Visual Studies 22(3): 240–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Roseneil, S. (2006) The ambivalence of Angel’s ‘arrangement’: A psychosocial lens on the contemporary condition of personal life. The Sociological Review 54(4): 847–869.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Roy, A., Hughes, J., Froggett, L. and Christensen, J. (2015) Using mobile methods to explore the lives of marginalised young men in Manchester. In: L. Hardwick, R. Smith, and A. Worsley (eds) Innovation in Social Work Research. London: Jessica Kingsley, pp. 155–172.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Scanlon, C. and Adlam, J. (2006) Housing ‘unhoused minds’: Inter-personality disorder in the organization? Housing, Care and Support 9(3): 9–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Scanlon, C. and Adlam, J. (2008) Refusal, social exclusion and the cycle of rejection: A cynical analysis? Critical Social Policy 28(4): 529–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Schwalbe, M. (1996) Unlocking the Iron Cage: The Men’s Movement, Gender Politics and American Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Sievers, B. (2007) Pictures from below the surface of the university: The social photo matrix as a method for understanding organisations in depth. In: M. Reynolds and R. Vince (eds) The Handbook of Experiential Learning and Management Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 241–257.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Sievers, B. (2008) Perhaps it is the role of pictures to get in contact with the uncanny: The social photo matrix as a method to promote the understanding of the unconscious in organizations. Organisational & Social Dynamics 8(2): 234–254.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Spradley, J. (1980) Participant Observation. London: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Wengraf, T. (2000) Qualitative Research Interviewing: Biographic Narrative and Semi-Structured Methods. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Winnicott, D.W. (1991) Playing and Reality. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Wyness, M. (2000) Contesting Childhood. London: Falmer Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The research for this article is part of a wider research project. The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of the staff and volunteers of the Men’s Room to the visual matrix and their collaboration in the wider research. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Jenny Hughes (Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, Manchester University) to the research project as a whole, which has helped to inform the ideas developed in this paper, and the contribution of Professor Lynn Froggett to the development of the visual matrix methodology. We are grateful to Professor Paul Hoggett for reading through the text and for his advice. The research was funded by the Lankelly Chase Foundation.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Psychosocial Research Unit, School of Social Work, Care and Community, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE, UK

    Julian Manley & Alastair Roy

Authors
  1. Julian Manley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alastair Roy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julian Manley.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Manley, J., Roy, A. The visual matrix: A psycho-social method for discovering unspoken complexities in social care practice. Psychoanal Cult Soc 22, 132–153 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41282-016-0037-5

Download citation

Keywords

  • visual matrix
  • social care practice
  • psycho-social
  • association
  • images