Social Prescribing USA

04/13/2026

TONIGHT, Monday, April 12th, is our monthly Health Professional Champions group! Every other month,, this group hears from social prescribing implementers from around the country, from college campuses to senior centers, to anchor civic organizations likes YMCAs. Tonight, we will hear from Kayleh Levy-Weller of UJA-Federation of New York' who will discuss her organization's pioneering Social Rx social prescribing model. Come hear more about how the UJA model works from 5PM to 6PM PST. Zoom Link below!

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88571176593?pwd=MNLKFwMA5YXC1LugFlWidJueUrazMW.1

04/01/2026

A terrific piece here in by our friend, Chris Appleton of SocialRx (formerly Art Pharmacy). It focuses on the growing role of social prescribing on America's college campuses. At our Leadership Summit last Fall, nearly everyone agreed that building the infrastructure for social prescribing in the U.S. should focus first on what is working well. It is clear that many efforts in higher education in this country are helping advance social prescribing in the U.S. and will be critical to the movement in the months and years ahead.

Colleges need more mental health and student well-being support--are higher education leaders ready to invest in doing it well?

03/31/2026

We are still in celebration mode from last week's HUGE Social Prescribing Day. We are reviewing all of the great announcements from the day and we remain SO excited about the movement's great momentum in this country and around the World. Along those lines, one of the biggest announcements from the day (beyond our own, see previous post!) came from "across the pond" from our friends at the National Academy for Social Prescribing in the U.K. It has just been named as the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Social Prescribing Policy and Development! This is impactful news for everyone who is involved in social prescribing around the World, including in this country. We will share more on this soon, but wanted to share this significant news with our network!

Around 1 in 5 visits to a primary care doctor are for problems that cannot be addressed clinically – issues such as loneliness, social isolation, financial hardship or inadequate housing that no prescription alone can resolve. Social prescribing is a response to this reality. It connects people to...

03/26/2026

Happy Social Prescribing Day! In honor of the day (along with our free webinar), we are releasing the results from the first-ever U.S. Social Prescribing Leadership Summit! Held last October in New Jersey. Social Prescribing USA held the event to identify key priorities for the next phase of the social prescribing movement in the U.S. Click the link below to find the full report along with a summary of the event, plus interviews with select U.S. social prescribing leaders!

A Report from the First U.S. Social Prescribing Leadership SummitOctober 17, 2025 Building the Future of Social Prescribing in the United States Over the past few years, the global social prescribing movement has made significant strides in the United States. Substantial media attention on the pract...

03/23/2026

This Thursday, March 26th, is International Social Prescribing Day (if you haven't heard!). And Social Prescribing USA plans to celebrate in a BIG way. That day, we will not only have a FREE webinar on arts and health and arts prescribing (see below), but we will be releasing our public report from the first U.S. Social Prescribing Leadership Summit we held late last year in New Jersey. Thanks to so many great people and organizations in the country (and beyond), we really see the movement developing in this country and want to use the energy around this celebration this week to push the movement forward by focusing on select areas and priorities. Please join on Thursday to be part of it (Registration in comments below)!

03/19/2026

Exactly one week to go to International Social Prescribing Day on March 26th. And what better time to congratulate one of our speakers for our FREE webinar that day, Dr. Daisy Fancourt who was named UNESCO Chair for Arts and Global Health! You can read more about this exciting appointment at the link below from UCL and register for our webinar, which focuses on arts and health and arts prescribing at the link in the comments:

Professor Daisy Fancourt (UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care) has been announced as a new UNESCO Chair in Arts and Global Health.

03/15/2026

We know that Bloomberg news requires a subscription, but we wanted everyone in our network to know that it featured a big article on social prescribing in the U.S., including an interview with our co-founder and Executive Director, Dr. Alan Siegel. The article touches upon many aspects of the global movement, including momentum in the U.S. for the practice.

We were excited to see that the article also mentions the great arts and health research by Social Biobehavioural Research Group's Daisy Fancourt as she (and others) will be part of our upcoming FREE international social prescribing day program on March 26th (link to register below). Find someone who has a subscription to Bloomberg (especially if you are affiliated with a college/university) so you can read the whole piece!

As health care systems around the world come under strain, physicians are turning to a much older form of social medicine.

02/26/2026

The ONE MONTH countdown to International Social Prescribing Day (March 26th) is officially...ON! Groups around the World, including here in the U.S. will be celebrating the organizations, people, researchers, patients and citizens who are helping integrate the arts, nature, service, and movement into health care. This will be the THIRD year that groups in the U.S. participate in the global celebration, and we are pleased to be hosting a FREE webinar on arts prescribing that day. Want to learn more, to register for our event, or let us know what you will be doing to celebrate? Click the link below for more information:

https://mailchi.mp/socialprescribingusa/newsletter-sp-day-2026

02/10/2026

The countdown to International Social Prescribing Day on March 26th is...ON! We are pleased to officially announce our special program for the day, The Art Of Prescribing: Advancing Arts-based Pathways to Health. This program will look at the great momentum of the arts and health movement and the great strides that arts prescribing has made in the U.S.

We have three great speakers, including Daisy Fancourt of Social Biobehavioural Research Group at UCL whose very new book, Art Cure: The Science of How Arts Saves Lives, is a big hit! Also participating will be Dr. Jill Sonke, one of the top arts and health researchers in the U.S., and Mark Clague who is leading great new arts and social prescribing efforts at the University of Michigan. It should be a GREAT event for a big day for social prescribing around the World!

To register, please visit: https://www.socialprescribingusa.com/webinars-events

02/09/2026

REMINDER: If you are a health professional, join us TONIGHT (February 9th) at 5PM PST for our HP social prescribing champion group!

Tonight, we will be featuring special guest, Peichi Waite, Ed.D., Director of Rutgers-New Brunswick's Scarlet Arts Rx. She will share insights into their successful arts prescribing program, its impact, and practical insights for launching social prescribing initiatives.

Meeting Details:
Date: Monday, February 9, 2026
Time: 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm PT

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88571176593?pwd=MNLKFwMA5YXC1LugFlWidJueUrazMW.1

About the Health Professional Social Prescribing Champions
Vision: To educate and empower healthcare professionals to advocate for social prescribing and increase awareness both within their fields and the general public while promoting clinical excellence, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

See you tonight!

02/06/2026

We are very excited to see that the new book, Art Cure, from our friend, Dr. Daisy Fancourt, is getting such great attention this week! Below, is a fun and helpful piece from the popular The New York Times - Well - Health Newsletter about Dr. Fancourt's new book, which focuses on the growing arts and health movement. The piece notes that the arts are “the forgotten fifth pillar of health,” alongside diet, sleep, exercise and nature. We are particularly excited about the book because it is bringing increased attention to the growing arts prescribing movement in this country and around the World. We had a chance to speak with Dr. Fancourt this week about her new book; our interview can be found in the comment section below:

This “fifth pillar of health” is often dismissed as entertainment.

02/05/2026

We have been looking forward to the publication in the U.S. this week of the new book, Art Cure: The Science of How Art Saves Lives, by our friend, Daisy Fancourt of UCL. Since its publication last month in the UK, the book has made waves in the arts and health world. Thankfully, we had a chance to connect with Daisy about the excitement around her book and why she thinks we are in a "seatbelt" moment for arts and health and arts prescribing. You can read our exclusive interview with her at this link, and stay tuned for information on how you can sign up for our talk with Daisy and others on International Social Prescribing Day on March 26.

https://www.socialprescribingusa.com/blog/fancourtinterview