This month doctors in Brussels, Belgium will be able to prescribe visits to local cultural institutions for their patients. Doctors at the Brugmann Hospital, one of Brussels’ largest healthcare facilities, are able to prescribe their patients visits to a number of cultural institutions managed by the city as part of treatments for “stress, anxiety and depression.” So reports Smithsonian.com’s Molly Enking, adding that “those with a prescription for free entrance can tour ancient underground pathways in the Sewer Museum, check out textiles from the 1500s at the Fashion and Lace Museum, or stroll through the galleries at the CENTRALE contemporary art center, among other activities.”
Seems like a wonderful idea to me. Unfortunately, here in the U.S. our healthcare system is governed by big insurance and big pharma, unless it’s in a pillform it’s not likely to be prescribed or supported.
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A creative activity is already since a long time incorporated in treatment program of mental healthcare institutions. Now it has found its way to the primary healthcare providers. Most stress related problems arise from a feeling of being trapped in a viscous circle. Hopefully the exposure to art will give them some incentive to think a little out of the box and to help them to escape the social corset that tortures their minds or to find a way to live with it.