Digital Stories, Expressive Voices: A Community-Based Arts Practice

Joselyn M. Carvalho Thesis Exploration

In a world saturated with media but still lacking safe spaces for authentic self-expression, digital storytelling (DS) is emerging as a transformative tool. It offers a unique bridge between personal narrative and community healing. As part of my work in expressive arts therapy, I’ve been exploring how digital storytelling can be applied not only in research and clinical spaces, but also how it can become ‘real-world’ applicable, more specifically, in a 13-week group format that centers cultural inclusivity, emotional safety, and community empowerment.

What is Digital Storytelling?

Digital storytelling is a personal narrative that can be told in the first person, narration or through any creative style best representing the story of the person creating it. The format is shared as a short film—usually combining audio, photos, and video. While this method is widely used, research has only recently begun to address how DS can be culturally inclusive, trauma-informed, and ethically grounded, especially for marginalized populations.

Studies show this intervention has been particularly effective with African refugees, Latinx, Vietnamese, and Caribbean heritage groups (Jimenez et al., 2022; Khorana, 2022), often because it creates space for both vulnerability and agency. Youth participants use narrative and visual tools to explore their identities, reflect on mental health, and reimagine their futures.

Why It Matters in Expressive Arts Therapy

As an expressive arts intervention, DS weaves together storytelling, visual art, music, and film to support youth in shaping narratives of growth and self-awareness. This work is more than creative expression—it’s about reclaiming voice. Youth aren't just telling stories—they're directing them.

A decolonizing framework is essential here. Participants choose what to share, how to share it, and which parts of their story they wish to preserve. Emotional safety, cultural responsiveness, and autonomy are key. This approach also allows participants to engage in meaningful reflection, often supporting healing around intergenerational trauma, identity formation, and mental health stigma.

What was Learned from Research

Working across disciplines—expressive therapies, public health, and community-based research—has been critical. Key takeaways from the literature include:

• Ethical Storytelling: Vulnerable youth must be empowered to control their narratives at every step.

• Support Systems: Ongoing facilitation and wraparound supports are essential.

• Reflection & Empowerment: Stories often surface trauma, but they also catalyze healing through reflection, connection, and reframing.

• Decolonizing Arts Practice: By valuing personal truth over polished production, DS becomes an inclusive and equitable practice for healing.

13-Week Program Structure: Digital Storytelling

If you're a clinician, educator, or youth organizer, this format offers a guided pathway to apply digital storytelling with young people—whether in schools, clinics, or after-school programs.

Pulled from Joselyn M. Carvalho 2025 thesis exploration

Final Thoughts

Digital storytelling is not just an intervention—it's a liberation practice. It provides youth the tools to explore, express, and empower themselves. As we continue to navigate conversations around mental health, trauma, and community care, it’s crucial we make space for stories that heal—not just inform.

Interested in using this intervention or adapting it for your space? Feel free to connect with me through my website or social media—I’d love to hear how you envision digital storytelling in your community.

REFERENCES:

Carlos Jimenez et al. (2022)
The Benefits of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Community-Engaged Research: Insights from a Study of Digital Storytelling with Marginalized Youth
🔗 https://doi.org/10.54656/jces.v14i2.42

de Jager et al. (2017)
Digital storytelling in research: A systematic review
🔗 https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2970

De Vecchi et al. (2017)
Exploring the process of digital storytelling in mental health research
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917729291

Eglinton, Gubrium, & Wexler (2017)
Digital storytelling as arts-inspired inquiry for engaging, understanding, and supporting Indigenous youth
🔗 International Journal of Education and the Arts

Gubrium et al. (2016)
Measuring down: Evaluating digital storytelling as a process for narrative health promotion
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732316649353