Healing Words tells the stories of patients whose lives have been changed as a result of the incorporation of poetry into their recovery process. Dr. John Graham-Pole and poetry therapist John Fox enter hospital rooms and help patients write poems as part of their healing process. John Fox gently coaxes words from patients, many of whom have never written poetry before. Every patient has a different story. Poetry deepens their understanding of themselves and their illnesses. At a time when American have grown cynical about health care costs, impersonal treatment and the intrusion of corporate self-interest in the doctor-patient relationship, this film affirms that art can build compassion between doctor and patient and facilitate healing among the most critically ill.

CIRC # 244.