George Page is the host of this interesting look at the human mind in all its variety. "Pain and Healing" opens with an overview of our current limited understanding of the mind's abilities to control pain and effect healing, before zeroing in on particular cases. There's Sarah, a seven-year-old little girl who must be constantly monitored because she cannot feel pain; Fred, who lost a foot, but is still plagued by intense feelings of pain in the "phantom limb"; and Fran, a woman who lives with chronic pain, though X-rays can find no particular cause. On the healing side, we hear the story of Leslie, a ballerina for the Royal Ballet Company, who breaks out in a sweat from even hearing a particular section of "Swan Lake" that is extremely painful for her to dance-but onstage, her mind takes over and conquers the pain; and Rachel Beales, a cancer patient, who knows that the fight launched by the mind is just as important to her chances of recovery as are the prescribed drugs. In addition to the human stories, there are several interviews with key researchers in various fields (hypnosis, the placebo effect, etc.), and even a few sidetrips down memory lane: how about Dr. Mayfield's VitaZone for what ails you? Not as consistently compelling as the earlier PBS series, The Brain, The Mind is still a worthwhile purchase, and is recommended. Other titles in the series include: The Search for the Mind, Language, and The Violent Mind. (See THE GREAT AMERICAN EXPERIENCE for availability.)
The Mind: Pain And Healing
(1988) 60 m. $69.95 ea. (or $495 for entire nine part series). PBS Video. Public performance rights included. Vol. 4, Issue 2
The Mind: Pain And Healing
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.