Museums on prescription: Brussels tests cultural visits to treat anxiety

Psychiatrists in the city can now prescribe free visits to cultural venues to complement other treatments

A tour of ancient sewers? An encounter with a masterpiece of 16th-century lace-making? These are two of the therapies on offer to people in Brussels suffering from depression, stress or anxiety.

From this month, psychiatrists in one of the city's largest hospitals have been able to offer patients museum prescriptions", a free visit with a few friends or family members to discover one or more of Brussels' cultural institutions.