Social Prescribing

Social Prescribing: Two stick figures planting a stick plant in some soil, caption reads 'More than Medicine' In the background is a flat of out of focus beet plants.

Happy Social Prescribing Day! What is that? you ask.

Social prescribing is a relatively new trend of doctors writing scripts (prescriptions) for patients to go to the museum. I first became aware of this in 2017, I believe, when I saw an article I cannot find about doctors in Montreal writing scripts for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

The theory is that engaging in social activities – such as in-gallery learning – can help stave off loneliness and depression. This is because social activities take you out of your home without throwing you into the scary world of nightclubs etc. Museums are safe spaces for you to interact with other people; they don’t demand much from you.

What can Your Museum do?

Contact local area doctor’s offices and therapists. ask them what it would take to have a prescription for your museum written up. Work with your education team to develop some easy, low-cost adult programming that encourage socializing.

Some examples:

Two hands holding a small 2 inch terracotta pot and paintbrush. Painting the pot to look like Greek Black-Figure art. In the background people are painting similar sized pots in bright colours and patterns as part of a Social Prescribing event.
A pot I painted at one such event in late 2017.
  1. Spring is coming, paint a planter and send them home with seeds
  2. Create a book club that would meet once or twice a month, work through a genre or top-seller list.
  3. Host a yoga class.
  4. Host a Q&A with someone and invite prescription holders or ticket holders. If you can, serve snacks.
  5. Make an easy cooking class – this one maybe hard as it requires more prep and a good mini-disaster plan!
  6. Print off some colouring sheets and invite people to do mindful art.
  7. Or simply offer prescription holders free admission.

There are so many more options, what can you think of? I would love to hear your ideas in the comments below!

Social Prescribing and Access

These prescriptions are a form of accessibility programming. People who are socially isolated are often suffering from one or more mental illness. This means that supporting prescriptions can help those suffering to break free of their illness.

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Resource

A colleague sent me this article not too long ago. It has a pay wall but your institution might have access or you can purchase it for $40.00 Canadian.

Effects of a museum-based social prescription intervention on quantitative measures of psychological wellbeing in older adults by Linda J Thompson et al.

Museologist Notes 4
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