Journal of Counseling & Development ■ Winter2008 ■ Volume86 12�©2008bytheAmericanCounselingAssociation.Allrightsreserved.

The majority of current students were reared on flashy video programs, so they relish the medium for learning purposes as well, particularly in comparison with academic sources such as pictureless textbooks and journals. One common ground where their learning-style preferences and my pedagogical choices merrily intersect is in the use of videos to capture life experiences, such as dealing with a disability. It is my aim to expose students to genuine depictions of the circum-stances, personalities, and perspectives of individuals with disabilities who are both typical and atypical of those served by the rehabilitation system. Therefore, I am always in search of engaging guest speakers and documentary videos that present a balanced view of the everyday emotional, physi-cal, and social dimensions of the experiences of people with disabilities. I am especially impressed with how this real-life material is depicted by the video MomentbyMoment:TheHealingJourneyofMollyHale. The following review focuses on three characteristics of this production that I appreciate because they facilitate one’s observing and understanding a creative approach to the ongoing challenges of coping with a chronic physical disability.

The preeminent quality of the video that struck me, as well as the student group to whom I recently showed it, was the expression of patience and hope by the featured couple, Molly and Jeramy, who also show themselves to be assertive and en-terprising. This optimistic tone is reflected in the words chosen for the title. They emphasize healing rather than curing or suc-cumbing, an exploratory journey of intimately coming to terms with disability on a variety of levels rather than a single-minded investment in an assumed formula or schedule for remediation. As Molly expresses it, her learning and therapeutic improve-ment have benefited from “not trapping my mind in how long something is supposed to take.” Living moment to moment is not just a catchphrase for her. It permeates her approach to encountering and understanding her disability by embracing all its aspects, not dichotomizing them into good and bad ele-ments. Her perception of her body and its impaired functioning allowed her to focus on “being intimate with tiny movement” and “paying attention to” her spasticity. Accordingly, she in-terpreted the increased tonicity of her muscles as “liveness”

that she and her network of “rehabilitation volunteers” could harness to stimulate the natural healing capacity of her body. She chose not to accept the medical view of it as an indication of neurological pathology to be suppressed by medication. “This is my body responding to the idea of moving,” she states. “I look for the smallest incremental changes, and pretty much every day I get one.”

A second strength of this video is its multidimensional coverage of Molly’s journey and the fellow travelers involved. Foremost is her husband, Jeramy, who earned the students’ applause for his supportive role in the video, in her rehabilita-tion, and in their marriage. He is her kindred spirit, likewise inclined to embrace whatever the experience of living with a disability brings. Nevertheless, he openly shares some of the resentment, struggles, and emotional self-doubts he has had since Molly acquired her cervical spinal cord injury in an automobile accident and he became her primary caregiver. She has a broad view of the world and actively uses many resources within both the conventional and complemen-tary/alternative medicine traditions. Specifically, the video includes scenes showing the following: conversations with and commentaries by two of her medical doctors; discussions of the stages of weaning herself from an indwelling catheter, then self-catheterizing about six times a day, to strategies by which she has achieved bladder control; pool therapy for am-bulation training; therapeutic horseback riding to strengthen the lumbar and pelvic muscles; massage therapy and other forms of bodywork provided by friends who are part of her therapeutic team; and even returning to her practice of the Japanese martial art, aikido, and successfully training and testing for the next belt level.

Versatility is another notable value of this video. In par-ticular, it offers information and appeal for a diversity of audiences. Take, for example, the following messages that the video emphasizes: the benefits of optimism, coordinated personal and community responses to a disrupted lifestyle, and innovative approaches to long-term management of a sig-nificant disability. It is easy to imagine these messages being useful to audiences as apparently different as a group of active laypersons who might view the video as part of a meeting at

Henry McCarthy, DepartmentofRehabilitationCounseling,LouisianaStateUniversityHealthSciencesCenter,NewOrleans.CorrespondenceconcerningthisvideoreviewshouldbeaddressedtoHenryMcCarthy,DepartmentofRehabilitationCounsel-ing,LouisianaStateUniversityHealthSciencesCenter,NewOrleans,1900GravierStreet,NewOrleans,LA�0112(e-mail:hmccar@lsuhsc.edu).

Video Review of MomentbyMoment:TheHealingJourneyofMollyHale

Henry McCarthy

Moment by Moment: The Healing Journey of Molly HalebyDorothyFadiman(Director),200�,availablefromConcentricMedia,POBox1�1�,MenloPark,CA9�026,VHStape,��minutes,$29.9�(individual),$99.00(library/university).

Journal of Counseling & Development ■ Winter2008 ■ Volume8612�

McCarthy

a local library or service club, a class of graduate students in counseling, and a technical expert such as a physician in a residency training program. As presented in the video, these and several other messages are not only relevant but also ripe for discussion, debate, and application. Although the disabil-ity-related subject matter suggests it is targeted to rehabilita-tion counseling students and practitioners, I believe that this video is equally beneficial for those in generic counseling curricula or service settings. Indeed, it could be argued that it is more important for these counselors, who certainly will serve clients with disabilities during their careers. However, these counselors are likely to have had less formal training and informal exposure from which to develop strategies and resources for assisting such clients to meet the challenges of living with a disability in a world that can be barrier ridden, physically and attitudinally. The production has a homespun quality, but it is a well-edited documentary that nicely merges filmed segments in color with black-and-white photographs. It does not drag at any point in its 57-minute running time.

One of the few disappointments about the film, reported by several students, was the scarcity of practical resource information about how Molly accessed, managed, and paid for all the conventional and alternative therapies that she incorporated into her ongoing rehabilitation. The students desired more specific information and explanations about the accommodations that Molly, a middle-aged woman who uses a wheelchair and is dealing with the effects of quadriplegia, relies upon to carry out the many activities she engages in outside the home. Although not a significant flaw, this gap stands out when compared with the footage dealing with psychological material such as coping strategies, symptom perceptions, and interpersonal relationships. Some unim-

pressed viewers may equate Molly’s persistent devotion to recovery of function with an attitude toward disability that they see as clouded by ableism, an ingrained view that the able-bodied norm for doing anything physical is the “right” way and, therefore, should be the goal. I am sympathetic to such concerns about the subtle but negative consequences of ableist thinking on society’s level of accepting and accom-modating people with disabilities. However, in this case, the sincerity and open-mindedness with which Molly and her team pursued her healing journey left me and the students with an inspiring feeling of encouragement, not suspicions that she or they are compromising her identity as a person with a dis-ability. She was a very athletic woman who enjoyed skiing, mountain climbing, and competitive swimming; now she pursues ongoing rehabilitation with that same athletic gusto. Her persona is charmingly relaxed, and her agenda seems self-actualizing rather than obsessed with being so-called normal. She notes, for example, that taking up horseback riding has not only strengthened the specific muscles essential for her ambulation training but also allowed her to resume a favorite recreational activity, backpacking with her husband.

According to the Web site (www.mollyhale.com), this video is being incorporated into a forthcoming DVD, PathwaystoWellness, a project of Ability Production and OrindaMorage Productions. The DVD will contain a video resource guide on various treatment modalities and topics, including acupunc-ture, Feldenkrais, meditation, breathwork, aikido, yoga, mas-sage, wheelchairs, water therapy, and equine therapy. Molly and Jeramy and their circle of support are to be commended on their twofold achievement: constructing an exemplary rehabilitation process and simultaneously sharing it with the broader community through this fine documentary.