Swiss Doctors Prescribe Museums as Art Therapy for Health Boost

In Neuchâtel, Switzerland, a creative new experiment has recently started. We want doctors to be able to prescribe free museum visits to their patients as part of their art therapy treatment. Cultural mediation manager Marianne de Reynier Nevsky heads this small but mighty initiative with a mission. It inspires people to get out more, walk more, explore more to connect with the world around them and improve mental and physical well-being. The project takes cues from a related effort that started in Montreal in 2019.

Neuchâtel’s program has issued about 500 prescriptions since launching, giving people access to any one of Neuchâtel’s four museums. With a modest budget of 10,000 Swiss francs (around €10,460), the initiative seeks to demonstrate the potential health benefits of cultural engagement. The Swiss national health system does not recognize “culture as therapy” under its public health insurance coverage. One Neuchâtel council member, Julie Courcier Delafontaine, believes this could soon be different.

The World Health Organization’s 2019 report on the impact of culture on health underscored the many mental health benefits gained from participating in artistic pursuits. Marianne de Reynier Nevsky elaborated on the program’s inclusive nature, stating:

"It could be a person with depression, a person who has trouble walking, a person with a chronic illness," – Marianne de Reynier Nevsky

Dr. Sauvain, chief of the surgery department at the Neuchâtel Hospital Network, Switzerland. He’s now an evangelist for the power of wellness, and prescribes his patients’ visits to museums. He believes that these prescriptions hold significant benefits:

"I think these patients will fully benefit from museum prescriptions," – Dr Marc-Olivier Sauvain

Retired teacher and poet Carla Fragniere Filliger supports the initiative, expressing enthusiasm for its potential global reach:

"There should be prescriptions for all the museums in the world!" – Carla Fragniere Filliger

The program aims to encourage not just physical activity and social interaction, but cultural appreciation as well. By connecting healthcare directly to rich cultural experiences in the community, it aims to provide a more holistic model to wellness.