The Connection Cure: How Social Prescribing Can Transform our Health (and Healthcare)

Traditionally, when we get sick, health care professionals ask, “What’s the matter with you?” But around the world, teams of doctors, nurses, therapists, and social workers have started to flip the script, asking “What matters to you?” Instead of solely pharmaceutical prescriptions, they offer “social prescriptions”—referrals to non-medical, community-based activities and resources, like photography classes, gardening groups, and volunteering gigs. In this talk, author and social prescribing advisor Julia Hotz will share stories, science, and insights from her bestselling book, The Connection Cure, on the radical ways "prescriptions" for art classes, swimming lessons, farm work, and more can help with everything from anxiety and depression to chronic pain and loneliness.