Social Prescribing

What is social prescribing?

Social prescribing links patients in primary care with non medical sources of support within the community.

Social prescribing provides a framework for developing alternative responses to psychosocial need and forms part of a wider recognition of the influence of social and cultural factors on health (Brown et al, 2004).

There is a growing consensus among health and social care professionals that psycho-social interventions should form a central component of treatment strategies for common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety (Swift & Parmentier, 2007).

This is especially relevant when one considers the rapid increase in the number of antidepressant prescriptions over recent years (Double, 2002).

There is now greater emphasis on a holistic approach, in which it is accepted that individual treatments and therapies may form only a small part of a much bigger strategy for promoting recovery (Mental Health Foundation, 1997)

References:

Brown. M, Friedli. L and Watson. S. (2004) Prescriptions for pleasure. Mentalhealth Today. June, 20-23

Double, D. (2002) The limits of psychiatry. British Medical Journal.

Mental Health Foundation. (1997) Knowing our own minds: A survey of how people in emotional distress take control of their lives. London, The Mental Health Foundation.

Swift, M. & Parmentier, H. (2007) Maximising treatment outcomes in the depressed patient. Update.