Section:GDN 1J PaGe:11 Edition Date:190731 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 30/7/2019 16:26 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
Wednesday 31 July 2019 The Guardian •11
Wednesday 31 July 2019 The Guardian •11
Culture as a cure is not a new idea. In 2008, the
then UK health secretary, Alan Johnson , called for
the arts to be part of mainstream healthcare, and in
2009, t he Royal College of Psychiatrists recommended
participation in the arts and developing creativity for
the protection of mental health. A decade on, evidence
for the impact of the arts on wellbeing is growing.
Research shows that “art on prescription ” is valued
by referrers and participants alike, and is also cost-
eff ective , with a reduction in the number of visits to the
doctor and participants gaining transfer able skills.
But provision in the UK remains patchy. In contrast,
Australia has had a national arts and health framework
to promote integration of the two since 2013, while
Sweden leads the way in Scandinavia in terms of art
on prescription. But Denmark is catching up, and the
relationship between culture and health is increasingly
being identifi ed as an important factor in a sustainable
Nordic welfare model. Anita Jensen , a postdoctoral
researcher at Aalborg University, sa ys: “We can see that
it works for many people. It’s relatively inexpensive,
with no known negative side-eff ects. ”
The 10-week course costs 12,000 Danish krone
(£1,440) per person , while a single session with a
psychologist is about 1,000 krone and a week on sick
leave costs a bout 4,000 krone, including benefi ts and
cost to employers. “Because Denmark is a small country,
we have a unique opportunity to make a diff erence
by off ering arts on prescription as a public health
initiative, ” sa ys Jensen. Nielsen agree s. “We’re largely
funded by the state , but the council can also decide
that this is worth while and fund it independently from
their own budgets when the pilot programme ends in
November , ” he sa ys.
Mortenson sa ys: “ I’d like to see the whole world
taking their culture vitamins. I’m not the same person
as I was when I started this process. I listen to classical
music every day now , I meet my culture group for
outings, even though our 10-week programme has
fi nished, and I have a support network with new
interests. I’ve even applied for a job in an art museum. ”
Thrysøe has also noticed a shift. He sa ys: “The course
altered my outlook – I’ve redefi ned what success looks
like. I went from being very isolated to being ready for
the job market and happier, too. It changed my life .”used to this world again , or even introduce it for the fi rst
time ,” he sa ys.
So far, 200 people , mostly women in their late 30s or
40s with family commitments, have taken part in the
Aalborg programme. “They tell me, ‘I used to do this sort
of thing a lot before I had kids.’ I tell them, ‘This sounds
depressingly familiar’,” Nielsen sa ys. “But there are men
too , because it’s not a space where you have to talk all the
time: you’re there to do and experience things.”
Like almost every other country on earth, Denmark is
fi nding that conventional, state-funded health resources
are inadequate to deal with large numbers of mentally ill
people. The hope is that imaginative initiatives like the
Kulturvitaminer programme might step into the breach.
There are eight strands to Aalborg’s programme,
including singing (which is proven to release dopamine
and promote a sense of belonging when conducted
among a group) , visiting the city archive to learn about
local history and genealogy , and music appreciation.
“We use playlists developed by music therapists to
give your brain a break, which in turn allows your body
to take a break,” sa ys Nielsen, adding that the music
is intended to “reduce arousal ” – it is “music that’s
predictable, a bit boring, even”. Such as? “Jack Johnson.”
There are also visits to the theatre to watch new
productions, and coaching sessions in which actors
teach participants about body language to help withMore online
In Mind: a six-month Guardian
mental health seriesFigured out
Ellemandsbjerg,
the Helgenæs
peninsula,
near Aalborg:
guided walks
are part of the
Kulturvitaminer
programme
PHOTOGRAPH:
VISITDJURSLAND.COM
Helen Russell
is a freelance
journalist based
in Denmark and
the author of
The Year of
Living Danishly500,000
The number of people in Denmark who
suff er from anxiety or depression, out of a
population of 5.7m
SOURCE: GLOBAL BURDEN OF DISEASE (2017)1 in6
The proportion of people who suff er from
some kind of mental illness in Denmark
SOURCE: INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION50,000
The number of people in mental health
hospitals in Denmark
SOURCE: WHO (2014)39 th
Denmark’s place in a global league table
(191 countries) of the eff ects of disability on
people’s life expectancy. Lower is better
SOURCE: WHO (2017)10
The number of psychiatrists
for every 100,000 people
in Denmark
SOURCE: WHOconfi dence in job interviews. The programme has an
agreement with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra in
which participants are taken to watch rehearsals and
performances , something that often leads to tears, sa ys
Nielsen. Researchers have found that watching music
performed live reduces stress. Participants also visit the
local art museum and take part in creative workshops,
an activity proven to develop resilience. Participants are
also encouraged to snuggle up under blankets in a dimly
lit room in an Aalborg library while a librarian reads to
them for two hours.
Most of the participants will not have had books read
to them since childhood, so this can prove an emotional
experience. Mortenson sa ys: “I spent so much of my life
reading to others , but this time I needed help and I felt
taken care of. It was very powerful.”
Brain scans show that when people are immersed
in a book, they mentally rehearse the activities, sights
and sounds of a story, stimulating neural pathways,
increasing empathy and improving well being.
Participants are encouraged to talk about the books,
“but not in a school-type way ”, sa ys Thrysøe. Finally,
there are guided nature walks, because numerous
studies have shown that spending time in nature is good
for mental health. Nielsen sa ys: “These are also valuable
in terms of seeing how slowly things grow, in contrast to
our busy modern lives .”Nature walks are
valuable in terms
of seeing how slowly
things grow, in contrast to
our busy modern lives
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