The Mental Health Shift Everyone’s Talking About: Why Social Prescriptions Are Going Global
04/24/25 • 37 min
In this fired-up episode, Stacie dives into the incredible world of Social Prescribing—a powerful, doctor-backed movement in over 30 countries that’s already changing lives by prescribing community, connection, and non-medical solutions like gardening, hiking, and with our help...rescue dogs trained for a person's specific needs.
Learn how the UK’s Social Prescribing model has already helped millions tackle mental health, loneliness, and stress without meds, and meet the unsung heroes of the movement: Link Workers—the compassionate connectors filling in where doctors can’t.
Stacie breaks down:
- Real-time global snapshot of Social Prescriptions + why it's spreading rapidly
- Why the UK nationalized it in 2019 and 30+ countries are currently investing in it
- Where the U.S. stands and how we might be closer than we think to this kind of revolution
- How The Human-Canine Alliance Matchmaking App could become a prescribing tool for emotional wellness
This episode is a strong dose of education and a powerful look at global mental healthcare trends towards Social Prescriptions.
Help us lay the groundwork for Social Prescriptions in America. 🐾
Resources used in this episode:
- Social Prescribing Academy (UK)
- National Lottery Community Fund (UK)
- Elemental Software (UK)
- Jameel Arts and Health Lab
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- National Academy for Social Prescribing (UK)
- Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP)
- Social Prescribing USA
- Benjamin Goldberg Foundation
- ArtPharmacy.co
- Culture Rx
- Health Leads
- Wholesome Wave
- Park Rx
- The Art Therapy Project
- VAGA (Visual Arts and Galleries Association)
- Stanford University's Art Prescriptions Program
In this fired-up episode, Stacie dives into the incredible world of Social Prescribing—a powerful, doctor-backed movement in over 30 countries that’s already changing lives by prescribing community, connection, and non-medical solutions like gardening, hiking, and with our help...rescue dogs trained for a person's specific needs.
Learn how the UK’s Social Prescribing model has already helped millions tackle mental health, loneliness, and stress without meds, and meet the unsung heroes of the movement: Link Workers—the compassionate connectors filling in where doctors can’t.
Stacie breaks down:
- Real-time global snapshot of Social Prescriptions + why it's spreading rapidly
- Why the UK nationalized it in 2019 and 30+ countries are currently investing in it
- Where the U.S. stands and how we might be closer than we think to this kind of revolution
- How The Human-Canine Alliance Matchmaking App could become a prescribing tool for emotional wellness
This episode is a strong dose of education and a powerful look at global mental healthcare trends towards Social Prescriptions.
Help us lay the groundwork for Social Prescriptions in America. 🐾
Resources used in this episode:
- Social Prescribing Academy (UK)
- National Lottery Community Fund (UK)
- Elemental Software (UK)
- Jameel Arts and Health Lab
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- National Academy for Social Prescribing (UK)
- Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP)
- Social Prescribing USA
- Benjamin Goldberg Foundation
- ArtPharmacy.co
- Culture Rx
- Health Leads
- Wholesome Wave
- Park Rx
- The Art Therapy Project
- VAGA (Visual Arts and Galleries Association)
- Stanford University's Art Prescriptions Program
Previous Episode
Rx: One Dog, Daily – The Rise of Social Prescriptions
What if your next prescription didn’t come from a pharmacy—but from a shelter?
In this eye-opening episode, host Stacie explores the global rise of social prescriptions, a revolutionary shift in healthcare that trades pills for purpose. From the UK’s National Health Service to community health programs around the world, doctors are now “prescribing” activities like dog walking, volunteering, and time in nature to combat anxiety, depression, isolation, and more.
At the center of this movement? Dogs. 🐾
Learn how rescue dogs are becoming powerful agents of change—naturally delivering emotional support, structure, connection, and healing in ways traditional medicine can’t. We break down the science, the stats, and the stories behind this shift, and ask: Why isn’t the U.S. following suit?
This episode dives deep into how The Human-Canine Alliance is bridging that gap—with technology, training, and a vision to make “One Dog, Daily” a real prescription in America’s mental health toolkit.
If you’ve ever believed there’s more to healing than pills, this is your episode.
Resources used in this episode:
- NHS Social Prescribing Overview
- World Health Organization – Loneliness and Social Isolation
- U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Loneliness (2023)
- Journal of Public Health (Oxford Academic)
- Pet Partners – Therapy Animal Program & Research
- American Heart Association – Dog Ownership and Heart Health
- Human-Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI)
- University of British Columbia – Therapy Dog Study
Next Episode
Inside the Pitch Taking on Big Pharma and Dog Rescue
In this milestone 10th episode, Stacie brings us behind the scenes in a Real Life Business study--a detailed walk into the pitch deck of The Human-Canine Alliance--a bold plan to reimagine mental health care and animal rescue in one unified solution.
See the pitch deck slides on YouTube!
Learn about TH-CA's omnipresence approach across multiple channels and insights into the pitch deck's content. Stacie outlines how The Human-Canine Alliance aims to integrate rescue dogs into social prescriptions to provide emotional, physical, and cognitive benefits, and she introduces their AI-powered app for matching rescue dogs with individuals with mental health needs.
Call for expert guests! Stacie is seeking guests to discuss mental health, therapeutic work with dogs, and social prescriptions.
Tune in to hear how we connect the dots to disrupt the current norms.
Sources used in this episode:
- CDC: Mental Health in the U.S. https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/index.htm
- NIMH: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
- Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1362491/us-mental-health-market-size/
- American Psychological Association: Medication vs Therapy: https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2022/report
- ASPCA: Shelter Statistics: https://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics
- NIH: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-working-expand-science-human-animal-bond
- HABRI: https://habri.org/research
- U.S. VA: https://www.research.va.gov/currents/0619-PTSD-service-dogs.cfm
- World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/health-topics/traditional-complementary-and-integrative-medicine
- U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on Loneliness (2023): https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf
The Human-Canine Alliance (TH-CA) - The Mental Health Shift Everyone’s Talking About: Why Social Prescriptions Are Going Global
Transcript
Hey guys, it's Stacie. You know what's wild? The Federal Reserve hosted an event last year focusing on what they're calling a missing market in America. Wanna know what that missing market is? Mental Health. Mental Health. They're saying we literally don't have the infrastructure or investment models to meet the demand.
Also, did you know, that loneliness and social isolation were officially declared as a public health crisis in America in 2023.
Hi everyone.
This is Stacie
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