Perinatal Substance Use in Film: An Ecological Exploration of Maternal Wellbeing Using the Documentary <italic>Higher Love</italic>.

The unique mental health needs of pregnant and postpartum women are important considerations within women’s holistic healthcare. Yet, few clinical resources exist to specifically support the development of professional counseling trainees. Moreover, the absence of counseling literature regarding the nuances present when perinatal women, that is women from the time of conception to 1 year post pregnancy, have substance abuse disorders highlights further opportunities for professional counselor development. This article explores the ecological nature of perinatal substance use disorder within the documentary <italic>Higher Love</italic> . Further, this article seeks to explore how film can be a useful pedagogical tool when training professional counselors on perinatal addiction. The article concludes with a module that operationalizes Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological model of human development to teach counseling students about perinatal addiction via film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]