A cellist performs amid lush botanical displays at the Shanghai Natural History Museum's Window of Nature zone as the first group of participants sits in quiet meditation. Absorbed by the soothing melodies, Shanghai's first "museum prescription" program officially launched, delivering drug-free immersive mental healing through science and cultural venues.
A joint initiative by the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum (SSTM) and the Shanghai Mental Health Center (SMHC), the program is the city's first social psychological support project pairing a popular science venue with a specialized mental health institution, marking the second round of in-depth cross-sector collaboration between the two sides. The very first prescription was issued at the launch ceremony on June 15.
Unlike clinical drug prescriptions, the "museum prescription" is a professionally assessed, non-clinical healing guideline, also classified as a social prescription.
It is distributed through two channels: medical institutions across the city's mental health service network, where doctors prescribe it to eligible patients following an evaluation; and community-level public service centers, where trained volunteers connect residents in need with relevant resources. Prescription holders enjoy free-of-charge admission to designated venues and access to exclusive healing activities.
"We create low-threshold scenarios to integrate mental health services into daily life, so people do not come under the pressure of 'seeking medical treatment'," says Qiao Ying, chief physician at SMHC.
