What Matters to You

Doctors are now “prescribing” activities such as museum visits, nature walks, volunteering, book clubs, and expressive arts practices as a more holistic approach to wellness. In the UK and some parts of the US, “social prescribing” has become integrated into medical practices to combat isolation, loneliness, and somatic responses to stress. These symptoms are often exacerbated for those in helping/caregiving professions due to burnout syndrome and a kind of desensitization that can develop as a way to cope with chronic exposure to high levels of stress and demand. 


A recent Harvard Public Health newsletter quotes a London-based physician named Giurca who champions this model of care: “Instead of a health care model based entirely on pills and procedures, where doctors ask patients, ‘what is the matter with you,’ this concept makes a paradigm shift to asking ‘what matters to you.’” This person-centered approach is highlighted in the HHArt of Medicine program via NYC Health and Hospitals and the Whitney Museum of American Art, which fosters the emotional well-being of its staff to promote healing and wellness for patients, families, and caregivers. Since countless studies reflect how expressive arts engagement can improve mental health outcomes, The Arts in Medicine department utilizes visual, literary and performing arts programming throughout the Health + Hospitals system.
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Yesterday’s Art-Centered Practice workshop invited hospital staff members from various departments to engage in mindful observation of a mural installation on the first floor by abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler, followed by an open studio process approach to art-making and reflective writing as a form of self care. One participant shared how she had neck pain at the beginning of the session, and has been struggling with a number of personal health issues. While experimenting with the wet media inspired by the mural downstairs, she realized that it only took one stroke of a paint stick to fill her entire page with color if she also added water. The resulting image was bursting with warmth, and evoked feelings of “wholeness” for her. By the end of the session, her neck pain was gone. Her creative process had reminded her of her own personal resourcefulness and resilience, which she felt on a physical and emotional level.

Post by Sharon Itkoff Nacache ATR-BC LCAT LPAT PMH-C
Workshop Photos courtesy of Titus Rawle