Combating Loneliness: New ‘Art Pharmacy’ to Launch in Rensselaer County

Imagine going to your psychiatrist and being given a prescription — except, instead of being for medication, it’s tickets to a play.

Using social connection as a form of medicine, called “social prescribing,” has made its way to Rensselaer County with the help of Russell Sage faculty members and the Rubin Community Fellows Program.

The Rubin Community Fellows Program, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, was founded and endowed by the Louis and Hortense Rubin family. The program supports faculty from academic institutions in Rensselaer County in bringing together their professional expertise with Rensselaer County community partners to benefit residents of the county. 

The social prescribing project provides a unique way to combat loneliness and isolation, which can impact mental health.

Russell Sage faculty David Baecker, professor of theatre; Alicia Harlow, chair and associate professor of psychology; and Tracy Gilbert, assistant professor of expressive arts in mental health, are partnering with Michael Kennedy and her community organization, Creative Action Unlimited, which is a social justice theater company based in East Greenbush, New York. 

Called the “Art Pharmacy,” the group is working to manage social isolation from the unique angle of the national Social Rx. Social Rx was founded in 2022 “to address the dual mental health and loneliness crises by connecting members with nonclinical, community-based activities — things like art, culture, nature, and movement — that have protective and therapeutic benefits.” 

Other projects funded by the Rubin program this year, including projects from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Emma Willard School faculty, explore global education engagement initiatives and climate change resilience education in community schools.

The Art Pharmacy project began this year after Kennedy heard about the initiative and realized that it had strong connections to the work that Creative Action Unlimited already does. 

“All of our shows are about a specific social issue or two,” Kennedy said. “Our goal is to create something real and that educates and inspires community members to go out to work for change. So mental health concerns are often part of the production stuff we do.” 

Through partnership with the Art Pharmacy, mental health providers, as well as social service providers, can refer clients struggling with social isolation to an artistic or creative event in their area to get involved with. 

These services and events will be tailored to individuals’ preferences. Clients will be referred to a range of artistic programs at Creative Action Unlimited, where they could take on such roles as performers, audience members, and writers. 

“It really just depends on what strikes their interest,” said Kennedy.

Baecker, Gilbert, and Harlow each play an integral part in this project. Baecker will provide general oversight through project leadership, creative direction, and constructing a network to connect mental health providers with the Art Pharmacy. Gilbert will help formally link the Art Pharmacy to existing art therapies and initiatives. Harlow will focus on developing effective outreach strategies to both clinical and social service providers.

“Art Pharmacy gets people, providers, and community organizations to start thinking about social isolation as an issue that’s relatively easy to address if folks have the right kinds of support,” said Kennedy. 

“We’ve known for years that social support is huge,” Harlow added. “This just gives us a direct pathway to treating it. It just seems like a huge opportunity.”

The project began on July 1, 2026, with Creative Action Unlimited as the first Art Pharmacy community partner in Rensselaer County. The group is excited to bring this program to the Capital Region. 

“Every referral that happens, every provider and community organization that actually sits down and listens to us and starts to consider how this fits with what they do, is a sign of success,” Kennedy said.

Baecker emphasized how impactful and restorative the arts can be for a person. 

“Participating in the arts isn’t a bad way to spend your life,” he said. “There’s no reason it can’t be good medicine, too.”