Swiss doctors are expanding the range of recipes for patients with mental health problems and chronic diseases to include public gardens, art galleries and museums.
The city of Neuchatel, in western Switzerland, launched last month the pilot project with doctors to help residents with difficulties and promote physical activity.
“To people who sometimes have difficulties with their mental health, allows them for a moment to forget their concerns, their pain, their diseases to go to spend a happy moment of discovery,” said Patricia Lehmann, Neuchel’s doctor who participates in the program.
“I am convinced that when we take care of people’s emotions, we somehow allow them to find a path to healing.”
Five hundred recipes for free visits to four places will be distributed, including three museums and the city’s botanical garden.
One of them was for a 26 -year -old woman suffering from professional wear and tear syndrome and who was found in the Neuchel Art and History Museum, which has Claude Monet’s masterpieces and Edgar Degas, as well as a collection of automated dolls.
“I think it brings some light to darkness,” he said, asking to remain anonymous.
We recommend you: technology goes to the rescue of mental health
Initiative to treat mental health could be expanded to the theater
The authorities say that the idea arose from a study by the 2019 World Health Organization that explores the role of the arts in the promotion of mental health and the treatment of diseases.
During the confinements for the COVID-19, the closure of the museums affected the well-being of the people, said Julie Coucier Delafontaine, head of the city’s department of culture.
“It was a true trigger and we convinced ourselves that culture was essential for the well -being of humanity,” he said.
The initiative will be tested for a year and could be extended to other activities, such as theater.
“We would love that this project took away and had enough patients to demonstrate their worth and that one day, why not, medical insurance covers culture as a form of therapy,” said Court Delafontaine.
With Reuters information
Follow us on Google News to always keep you informed
