At first glance, it seems to be a course for artistic work, as it is often offered by adult education centers and private organizations: The participants chatter cheerfully while each helps her own colorful work into life. "At the first appointment, when we went to the museum together, there was little talk to each other," recalls Katharina Popp, who supervises the course of the health department together with Matthias Roos.

Monika Ganster

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

  • Follow I follow

It is part of the COPE (Culture on Prescription in Europe) pilot project. The aim is to bring together people who mostly live alone and have few social contacts.

Low deductible

The course aims to break the isolation that the pandemic had exacerbated while enabling artistic experiences. New contacts are intended to strengthen personal initiative – which was a complete success in the first course of "Culture against Loneliness". The participants also meet privately and want to continue to meet – for a small personal contribution – to paint under the guidance of the experienced art therapist Andreas Hett. A second course is supervised by the theatre group T-Raum from Offenbach.

Months ago, the health department had been looking for interested parties via the press and social media. Around 100 people got in touch, and about 40 were invited by psychologist Nora Hauschild to define the need in more detail in a personal conversation. We were looking for people with moderate stress: no one with severe depression, but also no one who just wanted to save a VHS course. Some have already been helped with a cultural accompaniment, a group visit to the Städel or a film workshop. Almost only women had registered, which Christiane Schlang, who heads the psychiatry department at the health department, attributes to two things: Women often felt loneliness more strongly than men and would rather want to fight against it. "So far, we've had a hard time getting hold of the men," she laments.

Cultural courses strengthen resilience and mental health

The topical issue was demonstrated by the first German Social Prescribing Conference, which was hosted two weeks ago by the Charité in Berlin. In Great Britain, "social prescriptions" have been established for about twelve years. "And they work," Schlang emphasizes. The positive effect of social prescribing is well documented by studies, in Great Britain courses are used not only for the elderly, but also for sick people for whom the proven therapies do not lead to the desired success. "These recipes boost resilience and mental health."

In Germany, health insurance companies offer support for prevention courses, but it is something else whether you have to apply for the subsidy yourself, for example, for a yoga course or get it prescribed by the doctor, says psychologist Matthias Roos, who developed the measures with the Institute for Social Infrastructure ISIS. Whether there will be new courses in the series depends on whether a carrier can be found. Schlang has started talks with health insurance companies, but nothing is ready to be said yet. Until then, she recommends – men and women – the health department's program.