When Nafisa Nezam Omar was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, she got an unusual prescription: T’ai Chi.Several months after enrolling in the traditional style of martial arts, Omar, who lost her husband to a heart attack as well as a brother to gunfire and a sister to rocket shelling in Kabul, says she’s “finally being able to enjoy my life.” “I’m now volunteering and doing well,” she said.The Rexdale Community Health Centre, where her doctor is based, is among Ontario community health centres taking part in a pilot program that offers social and artistic remedies — including choir classes, fishing lessons, knitting and a visit to the Royal Ontario Museum — as an alternative treatment for certain health issues such as anxiety and loneliness. The ROM announced Thursday it would be offering 5,000 free passes, each valid for four people, as part of the project. “One of the things they’re trying to promote is a sense of belonging and empowering people to participate,” said Kate Mulligan, director of policy and communications for the Alliance for Healthier Communities, which represents 107 community-governed primary health care organizations and is leading the one-year program.“It might be that the physician or nurse practitioner sees that you’ve been coming in 10 times and a medical solution is not readily available for what’s bothering you.”Subscribe to the Star to support deep local reportingAmong the most common complaints — gobbling up physician time and cost OHIP — is loneliness, Mulligan said. She said through the program patients who meet the criteria are referred to a link worker, who walks them through a menu of treatment alternatives. The full menu of programs are free of charge to participants.“The Rexdale program has focused on ROM-type things and getting people to participate in the community,” Mulligan said.The concept of ...
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