Doctors Are Now Prescribing Art to Heal the Mind and Heart

Wise doctors are increasing the list of prescriptions for patients with mental health issues and chronic ailments to include visits to public gardens, art galleries, and museums (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Art as therapy: Swiss doctors prescribe museum visits

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Can Art and Museums Help Improve Mental Health?

The city of Neuchatel, in western Switzerland, launched a trial project with doctors last month to assist people suffering from mental health issues and promote physical exercise.

"For people who sometimes have difficulties with their mental health, it allows them for a moment to forget their worries, their pain, their illnesses and go and spend a joyful moment of discovery," said Patricia Lehmann, a Neuchatel doctor participating in the initiative.

"I'm convinced that when we take care of people's emotions, we allow them somehow to perhaps find a path to healing. 500 prescriptions will be distributed for free visits to four locations, including three museums and the city's botanical garden."

One of them went to a 26-year-old burnout victim. He visited the Neuchatel Museum of Art and History, which houses works by Claude Monet and Edgar Degas, as well as a collection of computerized dolls. "I think it brings a little light into the darkness," she remarked, preferring to remain unidentified.

Art as Medicine: How Cultural Prescriptions Are Promoting Healing and Well-Being

According to authorities, the concept stemmed from a 2019 World Health Organization (WHO) study on the importance of the arts in promoting health and dealing with illness.

Museum closures during COVID-19 lockdowns had a negative impact on people's health, according to Julie Courcier Delafontaine, head of the city's culture department. "That was a real trigger and we were really convinced that culture was essential for the well-being of humanity," she said.

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The idea will be tested for a year and may be expanded to include other activities such as theater. "We'd love this project to take off and have enough patients to prove its worth and that one day, why not, health insurance covers culture as a form of therapy," according to Courcier Delafontaine.

Reference:

1. Art as therapy: Swiss doctors prescribe museum visits - (https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/art-therapy-swiss-doctors-prescribe-museum-visits-2025-03-12/)

Source-Medindia