Swiss Doctors Prescribe Museum Visits as Therapy in New Pilot Project

A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, walks past an artwork in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025

NEUCHÂTEL, Switzerland, March 16 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) – In a groundbreaking initiative, Swiss doctors are prescribing museum visits and strolls in public gardens as part of a new therapeutic approach to support patients dealing with mental health conditions and chronic illnesses.

The city of Neuchâtel, located in western Switzerland, launched the pilot project last month, allowing doctors to issue prescriptions for cultural outings in a bid to enhance emotional well-being and promote physical activity.

“For people who sometimes have difficulties with their mental health, it allows them for a moment to forget their worries, their pain, their illnesses and spend a joyful moment of discovery,” said Patricia Lehmann, a participating doctor. She added, “I’m convinced that when we take care of people’s emotions, we allow them somehow to perhaps find a path to healing.”

Under the initiative, 500 prescriptions will be handed out for free visits to four cultural sites, including three museums and the city's botanical garden. Among the first recipients was a 26-year-old woman suffering from burnout, who described her visit to the Neuchâtel Museum of Art and History as uplifting. “I think it brings a little light into the darkness,” she told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

Authorities say the initiative was inspired by a 2019 World Health Organization (WHO) study, which explored the role of the arts in promoting health and managing illness. The idea gained further momentum during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when museum closures impacted public well-being, according to Julie Courcier Delafontaine, head of Neuchâtel’s culture department.

“That was a real trigger, and we were really convinced that culture was essential for the well-being of humanity,” Courcier Delafontaine said.

The pilot program will run for one year and, if successful, could be expanded to include theatre performances. There is also hope that health insurance will eventually cover cultural activities as a form of therapy.

“We’d love this project to take off and have enough patients to prove its worth,” Courcier Delafontaine said. “And that one day, why not, health insurance covers culture as a form of therapy.”