TRAVERSE CITY — A growing number of professionals are prescribing arts, crafts or community engagement as a way of potentially staving off negative mental health.
Nearly half of America takes at least one prescription drug, and at least one in six takes a psychiatric drug, according to the CDC, even though some of the most commonly-prescribed drugs, like antidepressants, show a mixed bag of results and side effects.
Social prescriptions offer an alternate course of treatment—one that has been around since ancient times. One review of 86 social prescriptions in the UK found patients who received them experienced not only a decrease in anxiety and depression, but also a boost in self-esteem, confidence, and positive mood.
Lisa Barnwell is the owner of the Art on Union gallery in Traverse City.
She says she’s seen the impact that art can have on the recovery of others, and even herself — Lisa experienced a concussion in 2012, and she says creative work has helped in her healing.
Lisa says that she sees art impact people’s recovery on both sides — both artists and viewers can take something away from a moving work, she says.
“I think art can do that for us as well,” she said. “It takes our imagination and our awe and inspires us in a different place. And I think it’s really important.”
Lisa also says the world of art and vivid colors can potentially give a boost on gloomy days, or even help get us through tougher situations.
“I find for me personally, even though I’m way past my max healing point with my injury — it’s very cliche, but art is my happy place,” she said.
A report on social prescribing in Canada found that for older adults, there was nearly $300 million cost saving from lower hospitalizations, emergency calls and visits to the ER due to fewer falls. Among youth, they found a 14% increase in lifetime earnings for youth aged 15 to 17 struggling with anxiety and depression.
Dr. Peter VanVeldhuizen is Lisa’s uncle and has prescribed creative works for his patients in the past.
“I think it’s clearly a way patients can express themselves and find a way to help deal with some of their anxiety, or depression or past traumas through art,” he said.
Dr. VandVeldhuizen retired a week ago after 34 years practicing medicine. He says that in his retirement, he’s finding more time to lead by example and embrace his creativity.
“My wife actually signed us up for an art class tomorrow, so we’ll see how that goes… it’ll be a new experience for me,” he said. “Learn something different and kind of get away from the grind of work a little bit more and try to learn and be a better example for what I’ve told my patients over the years.”
Social prescriptions are not necessarily meant to replace pills or therapies. But there is growing evidence that this approach to medicine can have transformative public-health impacts: more than 80% of our health outcomes are driven by social and environmental factors, while only 16% are related to clinical care. This means that in order to be healthy, we need access to basic resources, such as clean air and fresh food, as well as activities that give us a sense of purpose.