Adelphi University social work professor Beth Counselman Carpenter, PhD '14, helps people in breast cancer treatment define beauty on their own terms.
At Adelphi University, faculty scholarship doesn’t always involve archival research, clinical trials or hands-on work in the field. Sometimes, it’s about changing lives up close.
“It’s not often in research that you get to really help people and make them feel better,” said Beth Counselman Carpenter, PhD ’14, associate professor and director of Adelphi’s Doctor of Social Welfare (DSW) program, who oversaw an empowerment photography project for individuals undergoing breast cancer treatment.
For the past several years, Dr. Counselman Carpenter has partnered with Keepers of the Flame Foundation, a breast cancer research and advocacy group in Savannah, Georgia, on a variety of initiatives. (Their early work together focused on increasing access to wellness benefits, particularly psychotherapy, for people in treatment for breast cancer.) Keepers of the Flame was approached by the Savannah Arts Council with funding and an idea: organizing photo portrait sessions for people in treatment, then taking the portraits on the road as a traveling exhibition.
As Dr. Counselman Carpenter and Keepers of the Flame leadership developed the project, they knew they “wanted to take the burden off participants,” she recalled. “They wouldn’t have to frame the topic themselves. But they would be able to define and reclaim what beauty meant to them in the context of living with breast cancer.” The project design borrowed from two qualitative research methods: Photovoice, which puts the camera in participants’ hands and asks them to capture their daily lives, and empowerment photography, which celebrates people’s strength, beauty and resilience.
Each of the eight participants worked with the photographer to create the world of their portraits, from theme to outfit, lighting and caption. Before the shoot, they received “glow-ups” from a hair stylist and makeup artist, continuing to co-create their physical representations. “Participants talked about how meaningful those relationships with the stylists were,” Dr. Counselman Carpenter said. “The care and attention that was given to them, the ability to work with someone to design how you want to look and feel when you’ve lost so much power over your image.”
The photos were curated for display at multiple community sites around Savannah, including a shopping mall, car dealership and even a fundraising gala. After the showings, participants completed a survey that asked them to reflect on their emotional and psychological responses to the project.
Along with Adelphi social work PhD student Sabrina Hathweh-Stellwag, MSW ’15, Dr. Counselman Carpenter performed a content analysis of the survey, which was later published as “Enhancing Self-Worth and Patient Well-Being: The Influence of Participation in Empowerment Photography on the Psychological Well-Being of Breast Cancer Patients” (Open Journal of Medical Psychology, October 2025).
As the paper notes, the project had “overwhelmingly positive and life-enhancing” results. Participants were able to rediscover themselves using a new definition of beauty. One participant related, “I will never forget the feeling I had of hope, self-love, pride, humbling gratitude and inner peace.” Another commented, “I feel better knowing that I am still beautiful even with my scars. Beauty is feeling amazing in one’s own body.”
Participants also reported feeling more connected to others through the project—a critical lifeline when so many breast cancer patients are proven to experience isolation, which contributes to cancer-related mortality. In fact, they expressed the belief that their participation could positively influence other people being treated for breast cancer.
As research on breast cancer patients has shown, regaining a sense of control over one’s body, emotions and experiences can improve well-being and quality of life. That’s why Dr. Counselman Carpenter is hopeful that this project—as Keepers of the Flame has planned since the start—will be replicated in other settings around the country. “It’s a complicated project to get off the ground since it’s really interdisciplinary. You need breast cancer patients, advocates, creative professionals and a research team to analyze the data,” she said. “But that just makes the work so much richer.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Empowerment photography is a qualitative research method that celebrates people’s strength, beauty and resilience. Adelphi’s breast cancer portrait project combined it with Photovoice, a method that puts the camera in participants’ hands to capture their daily lives. Each participant worked with a photographer to shape their portrait’s theme, outfit, lighting and caption.
Beth Counselman Carpenter, PhD ’14, associate professor and director of Adelphi’s Doctor of Social Welfare (DSW) program, partnered with Keepers of the Flame Foundation, a breast cancer research and advocacy group in Savannah, Georgia. Eight people in treatment took part in portrait sessions, including hair and makeup styling. The portraits were then displayed at community sites around Savannah, including a shopping mall, a car dealership and a fundraising gala.
Dr. Counselman Carpenter and Adelphi social work PhD student Sabrina Hathweh-Stellwag, MSW ‘15, analyzed participants’ post-exhibition surveys. Their paper, published in Open Journal of Medical Psychology in October 2025, reports overwhelmingly positive results. Participants rediscovered themselves through a new definition of beauty.
Participants in the project reported feeling more connected to others. This matters because many breast cancer patients experience isolation, which contributes to cancer-related mortality. Participants also said they believed their involvement could positively influence other people being treated for breast cancer.
Keepers of the Flame has planned from the start for the project to be replicated in other settings around the country, and Dr. Counselman Carpenter is hopeful that it will be. Because the project is interdisciplinary, it requires breast cancer patients, advocates, creative professionals and a research team to analyze the data.