Prescription: Art
05/05/2025 02:02PM ● By Madison Mohn
Photo courtesy of Dagny McKinley/Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp.
Imagine a world where the boundaries of prescription medication are stretched to include not just pills, but creativity. This is a new reality for Routt County, a place where youth were severely impacted post-pandemic due to its lack of accessible and affordable resources. Prescription for the Arts is a new program that works to combat mental illness, depression and anxiety by prescribing arts and culture experiences to youth and adolescents in the Yampa Valley.
Dagny McKinley and Jennifer Grathwohl, partners in the program, were inspired to find new alternatives to aid the mental health crisis in the community. “The program is a form of social prescribing,” Dagny explains, “where you have a medical professional that says, ‘instead of giving you pills, we’re actually going to look at different social connections and ways to engage as a way of healing.”
Social prescribing has increased in popularity in recent years due to proven statistics showcasing the psychological benefits of improved mental and physical health, social connections and quality of life that come out of cultural experiences. Prescription for the Arts is focused on treating those under 21 who struggle with isolation, depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism or any emotional or mental health concern.
Healthcare and social care providers prescribe nature, art and cultural experiences to address the needs of their patients. It might be a trip to the Tread of Pioneers Museum, attending a concert at Strings or joining a dance class.
Those in the program will have the opportunity to choose events that peak their interest and even collaborate one-on-one with artists – a private painting lesson with a watercolor artist, for example.
Each participant is assigned a care navigator who serves as an intermediary and source of support between themselves, the chosen arts organization and the prescribing doctor. “The care navigator is available to go with the participant to their first experience, so that it’s not a whole new thing where it’s overwhelming for them,” Dagny says. “They have someone familiar who’s walking them through the process.”
Each organization that hosts a program participant will receive compensation for the classes, positively impacting the creative community in Steamboat. “The arts organizations have been in full support,” Jennifer says. “What’s great about the program is that first and foremost it is to help youth, but a secondary positive is that it also helps arts organizations and artists because they are compensated for their services as well.”
Since mid-October, the program has been prescribed out of Pediatrics of Steamboat Springs’ Oak Street office. Run by Dr. Sheila Fountain and nurse practitioner Abigail Hoffman, the office, which focuses on integrative medicine and behavioral health, sees a small subset of youth in the community. But even with its smaller outreach, the office treated over 400 patients with mental health concerns last year. Due to the high data from a small office, Dr. Fountain believes that it can be reasonably inferred that thousands of youth in the Steamboat area are treated for mental health issues every year. “When you look at depression as a whole, it affects one in five teenagers – and anxiety is similar, so it’s a huge percent of the population,” she says.
In its first year, the program is grant-funded, making it free for participants. Dagny and Jennifer hope it can initially serve 100 participants in the Yampa Valley. “Eventually,” says Dagny,“the goal is to expand to all ages, include more healthcare providers, and stretch to all of Northwest Colorado.”
Social prescribing has been implemented in other U.S. states and even internationally, but it has never been targeted solely toward youth in a region. The National Academy for Social Prescribing obtained data that social prescribing can improve personal and mental well-being, reduce loneliness and increase feelings of support among youth aged 16-25. “By prescribing arts experiences, I envision our program as a vital resource that empowers youth to navigate mental health challenges,” Jennifer says. The first year is only the beginning, but national data from similar programs has shown that prescribing experiences can be much more beneficial to youth mental health than any pill.
Imagine a world where the boundaries of prescription medication are stretched to include not just pills, but creativity. This is a new reality for Routt County, a place where youth were severely impacted post-pandemic due to its lack of accessible and affordable resources. Prescription for the Arts is a new program that works to combat mental illness, depression and anxiety by prescribing arts and culture experiences to youth and adolescents in the Yampa Valley.
Dagny McKinley and Jennifer Grathwohl, partners in the program, were inspired to find new alternatives to aid the mental health crisis in the community. “The program is a form of social prescribing,” Dagny explains, “where you have a medical professional that says, ‘instead of giving you pills, we’re actually going to look at different social connections and ways to engage as a way of healing.”
Social prescribing has increased in popularity in recent years due to proven statistics showcasing the psychological benefits of improved mental and physical health, social connections and quality of life that come out of cultural experiences. Prescription for the Arts is focused on treating those under 21 who struggle with isolation, depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism or any emotional or mental health concern.
Healthcare and social care providers prescribe nature, art and cultural experiences to address the needs of their patients. It might be a trip to the Tread of Pioneers Museum, attending a concert at Strings or joining a dance class.
Those in the program will have the opportunity to choose events that peak their interest and even collaborate one-on-one with artists – a private painting lesson with a watercolor artist, for example.
Each participant is assigned a care navigator who serves as an intermediary and source of support between themselves, the chosen arts organization and the prescribing doctor. “The care navigator is available to go with the participant to their first experience, so that it’s not a whole new thing where it’s overwhelming for them,” Dagny says. “They have someone familiar who’s walking them through the process.”
Each organization that hosts a program participant will receive compensation for the classes, positively impacting the creative community in Steamboat. “The arts organizations have been in full support,” Jennifer says. “What’s great about the program is that first and foremost it is to help youth, but a secondary positive is that it also helps arts organizations and artists because they are compensated for their services as well.”
Since mid-October, the program has been prescribed out of Pediatrics of Steamboat Springs’ Oak Street office. Run by Dr. Sheila Fountain and nurse practitioner Abigail Hoffman, the office, which focuses on integrative medicine and behavioral health, sees a small subset of youth in the community. But even with its smaller outreach, the office treated over 400 patients with mental health concerns last year. Due to the high data from a small office, Dr. Fountain believes that it can be reasonably inferred that thousands of youth in the Steamboat area are treated for mental health issues every year. “When you look at depression as a whole, it affects one in five teenagers – and anxiety is similar, so it’s a huge percent of the population,” she says.
In its first year, the program is grant-funded, making it free for participants. Dagny and Jennifer hope it can initially serve 100 participants in the Yampa Valley. “Eventually,” says Dagny,“the goal is to expand to all ages, include more healthcare providers, and stretch to all of Northwest Colorado.”
Social prescribing has been implemented in other U.S. states and even internationally, but it has never been targeted solely toward youth in a region. The National Academy for Social Prescribing obtained data that social prescribing can improve personal and mental well-being, reduce loneliness and increase feelings of support among youth aged 16-25. “By prescribing arts experiences, I envision our program as a vital resource that empowers youth to navigate mental health challenges,” Jennifer says. The first year is only the beginning, but national data from similar programs has shown that prescribing experiences can be much more beneficial to youth mental health than any pill.