Art Is Now Becoming a Medical Treatment

Dance classes for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and other mobility conditions in Colorado are part of a growing movement linking arts and health. Research shows that arts programs can improve physical and mental health outcomes for a wide range of individuals, not just those with medical conditions. Hospitals are increasingly incorporating arts programs into patient care, with positive results. Collaborative efforts in communities are also emerging to strengthen the connection between arts and health, promoting evidence-based practices and expanding access to creativity for improved well-being.

A mashup of physical therapy and artistic expression developed by New York’s Mark Morris Dance Group, Schuler’s classes are designed to help participants manage aspects of their diseases, like coordination, balance and gait, while declaring dance an art form for everyone. Some of the dancers have even joined 3rd Law, the company that puts on the classes, in live, on-stage professional performances.

“It’s joyful and fun,” says Schuler. “You don’t have to be a patient in this room. We are just moving together.”

Community-based workshops like this reflect a growing body of scholarship linking the arts to improved outcomes in physical and mental health. The research is fueling a push to make arts more accessible for everyone from childhood through adulthood, while hospitals, therapists and clinical researchers are increasingly bringing art and culture into environs for healing — often with remarkable results.

“We understand now, because of the epidemiological evidence that we have, that access to the arts is a determinant of health and well-being,” says Jill Sonke, a longtime arts and health researcher who is currently U.S. cultural policy fellow with Stanford University. “If we don’t make access to the arts more equitable, we’re doing harm.”