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On World Health Day, the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) and BC Parks Foundation’s PaRx, Canada’s national nature prescription program, launched a partnership to support patients’ mental health and psychological well-being. The new collaboration is the first of its kind in Canada and possibly the world, providing an immersive indoor art and nature experience in an urban setting.

“We know that visitors come to the gallery seeking more than art — they come to reflect, restore, and find solace,” VAG Interim CEO Sirish Rao told Medscape Medical News. The exhibition “Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape” provides an appropriate indoor nature experience for the prescription. Carr’s paintings of British Columbia’s forests invite leisurely contemplation, according to Rao.

Melissa Lem, MD, a family physician and director of PaRx’s Park Prescriptions, told Medscape Medical News, “PaRx frequently receives questions from patients and prescribers about how people who have outdoor accessibility issues, whether it’s due to inclement weather or trouble with mobility, can fill nature prescriptions.

“Prescribing a nature-inspired art experience is a way to make the health and well-being benefits of nature accessible to more people,” she said. “It’s also a way to inspire new audiences — those who may feel more at home in an art gallery than outside — to step outside into nature to improve their health.”

A printed guide for the exhibit encourages visitors to “slow look” (ie, look at each painting at length), connect to the images of nature, and reflect on how the experience makes them feel. Visitors also are encouraged to spend time exploring local parks or getting involved in protecting nature.

During the first year of the program, each visitor with a prescription and an optional guest will receive free admission to the gallery, underscoring the initiative’s effort to foster social connections while removing financial barriers. Visitors may return as often as they like through January 4, 2026, by retaining their PaRx nature prescriptions.

What the Evidence Says

“Nature is so powerful that just looking at images of it can improve markers of health and well-being,” Lem said. “There’s an impressive amount of evidence describing the benefits of nature time across almost any kind of mental and physical health issue you can imagine, from hypertension and diabetes to prenatal care and depression.”

Recent studies have supported those benefits. For example, a special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health entitled “Advances in Nature-Based Therapies and Human Health” features 11 papers with research covering exposure to or participation in nature and their effects on mood, psychological well-being, anxiety, and social engagement across a range of settings.

In addition, a small study published in Scientific Reports showed that photo slideshows of forest had a positive effect on cognition and reduced physiological arousal among university students in Germany.

Studies also support the psychological benefits of prescribing art. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis concluded that art interventions led to “a statistically significant improvement in well-being” among participants, with “promising outcomes” that require further investigation, such as reductions in anxiety and depression.

Most prescriptions in the PaRx program tend to be for mental health concerns, Lem noted. “Vancouver has a reputation for being a lonely city, and this new collaboration specifically seeks to improve social connection.”

Research shows that connecting people to nature not only improves their health and well-being but also can result in fewer prescriptions for pharmaceuticals. For example, a recent study indicated that heading outdoors three to four times per week can lower the likelihood of taking blood pressure pills by 36% and taking mental health medications by 33%.

In addition, some evidence suggests that spending time in museums can reduce stress and cortisol levels, said mental health advisor Paula Toledo, the VAG’s lead well-being consultant.

“As we look at ways to buffer loneliness and social isolation, we are drawing on research that shows that interactions with art and nature can evoke feelings of awe and inspire wonder,” she told Medscape Medical News. “In these moments, when people feel interconnected with something larger than themselves, they can often feel a greater inclination toward community involvement and pro-social actions.”

What Prescribers Say

Lem said that while it’s “early days” for the collaborative initiative with VAG, which was launched last month, “two of my own patients, a young woman who’s struggling with a new cancer diagnosis and an elder with hypertension and chronic kidney disease, have asked me for nature prescriptions, specifically saying they thought a visit to the gallery would improve their mental health.”

Carla Fry, PhD, director of the Vancouver Psychology Centre, told Medscape Medical News, “What stands out most is how moved people feel afterward. One client told me she hadn’t realized how much she needed ‘a place to just be’ — no pressure, no expectations. Several others have shared how the exhibit gave them a sense of calm they hadn’t felt in weeks.

“A few were surprised by how emotional the experience was,” she said. “For some, Carr’s landscapes stirred memories or longings that had been sitting just beneath the surface. Interestingly, the chance to bring a guest has also made the experience more inviting. Clients often describe going with a friend or family member and finding it strengthened those bonds, too.”

Because some of her clients weren’t sure what to expect or whether they were expected to “understand” the art in a particular way, Fry emphasizes beforehand that there’s no right or wrong way to experience the exhibit. She advises clients with sensory challenges to wear shaded glasses, hats with brims, or noise-cancelling headphones to limit the impact of other patrons, lights, or ambient sounds that may distract them from focusing on the art.

Cindy Hayto, a registered physical and occupational therapist at ARC Active Rehab Consulting in Burnaby, British Columbia, prescribes the exhibit to her older clients with mobility issues that make it difficult to get outside without relying on caregivers.

The idea that connecting with nature can bring physical and mental benefits “can be a foreign concept to some, but introducing them to nature-themed art is a way of breaking the ice,” she said. The exhibit provides a worksheet that prompts viewers to sharpen their observations as they reflect on the paintings, and this increased acuity can be transferred to observations outdoors.

“Even looking at the trees from their window, they can see the movements, hear the sounds, observe the winged wildlife within the branches and imagine stories,” Hayto continued. “The benefits can be immediate, including slower, deeper breathing; lowered blood pressure and heart rate; improved mood, a quieting of the mind.

“The bonus of a second pass for a guest means a caregiver receives a direct benefit as well,” she added. “Or if not a caregiver, my client has a unique opportunity to offer something to a friend, to share in the experience, and to pursue future opportunities to connect with nature.”

Looking Ahead

Going forward, Rao envisions the potential expansion of the program. “Already, we can see that the experience would be even more beneficial if we had the capacity and wherewithal to have regular group classes, a dedicated person to receive guests, or even a resident art therapist. These are dreams we nurse for the future as we garner more support for this program.

“Art prescriptions are best seen not as a one-visit scenario but as a pathway that includes participating in the arts, engagement in self-expression, and social interactions,” he said. “A recommended ‘dosage’ would be a minimum of one visit or more per month to an art experience that lasts at least 30 minutes. This is extremely powerful, and we hope that this program can help inspire other arts organizations and medical professionals to collaborate and make such offerings widespread, even normalized.”

Fry encourages colleagues globally to think about the untapped resources in their own regions (such as local museums, parks, and cultural spaces) and consider how these environments might serve as extensions of the therapeutic process. “We don’t always need to prescribe medication or a therapy protocol,” she said. “Sometimes, what helps most is giving someone permission to slow down, to look, to feel, and to connect with nature in all its forms.”

Lem pointed out that the new collaboration also aims to inspire more care for the planet. “Research shows that people who are more connected to nature are more likely to protect it and engage in more pro-environmental behaviors that go beyond biodiversity conservation, like recycling, energy conservation, and voting for decision-makers who prioritize environmental protections,” she said.

“In a world with increasing stress on health professionals due to increasingly challenging practice environments in our offices and hospitals, as well as stresses from outside the healthcare system due to climate change, it feels good to be part of a movement that improves both patient and planetary health,” Lem concluded.

Rao, Lem, Toledo, Fry, and Hayto reported having no relevant financial relationships.

Marilynn Larkin, MA, is an award-winning medical writer and editor whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Medscape Medical News and its sister publication MDedge, The Lancet (where she was a contributing editor), and Reuters Health.