ABOUT US
A simple yet effective solution from the global south, making its way into the global north.
The Friendship Bench provides
sustainable community based psychological interventions that are evidence based, accessible and scalable.
WE ARE Reimagining the delivery of evidence-based mental healthcare. We envision a world where a friendship bench is within walking distance for all.
OUR MISSION
To get people out of depression.
We do this by creating safe spaces and a sense of belonging in communities, to enhance the quality of life.
OUR VISION & VALUES
Our vision is to have a Friendship Bench within walking distance for all. Guided by our values of empathy and connection, and anchored in over a decade of rigorous research (including a RCT published in the Journal of American Medical Association, JAMA) we have re-imagined the delivery of evidence-based mental healthcare.
OUR APPROACH
The Friendship Bench trains community health workers (also known as lay health workers) to provide basic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with an emphasis on Problem Solving Therapy, activity scheduling and peer led group support. This task shifting approach means we can deliver an effective, affordable and sustainable solution to bridge the mental health treatment gap at a primary care level.
We gathered lessons from the past decade, designed and launched the Friendship Bench In A Box (FB In A Box) in 2023. The FB In A Box is the blueprint now guiding Friendship Bench implementation. It can be adapted in any setting in the world. Leveraging on technology, trained participants get access to implementation resources, reporting frameworks, and technical support through the FB In A Box digital portal. We follow a blended model of training which includes face-to-face and/or online training. We train Organizations and Individuals who are interested in bringing the Friendship Bench in their communities. The actual training focuses on the 3 Levels of support which are:
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Level 1 - Opening the Mind (Kuvhura Pfungwa in Shona)
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Level 2 - Uplifting (Kusimudzira)
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Level 3 - Strengthening (Kusimbisa)
Once training is completed, participants are offered supervision sessions to expand on their clinical skills, learn more about certain mental health topics and to ask for advice on difficult cases. Our supervision goal is to empower community health workers to feel confident to carry out the support work that they do and to be aware of their clients’ and their own needs.
We deliver the talk therapy intervention to people with mild to moderate level common mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, known locally as ‘kufungisisa’- thinking too much. When people visit the Friendship Bench they are screened with a validated tool called the Shona Symptom Questionnaire (SSQ-14). People are also screened using the PHQ-9, and/or the GAD-7. If a person scores above the cut off point, they are suggested to stay and receive the one-on-one problem solving therapy. In practical terms, participants are taught a structured approach to identifying problems and find workable solutions.
We are not conventional, our trained CHWs sit with their clients outdoors, under the trees on wooden park benches in discreet safe spaces in the community. During training, a referral pathway is established for cases which are considered ‘red flags’ where a higher level of care is needed.
After the one-on-one talk therapy, Friendship Bench clients are introduced to a peer led support group known as Circle Kubatana Tose (CKT), meaning ‘holding hands together’. In these groups clients are connected to others who have sat on the Friendship Bench, received talk therapy and became empowered to solve their own problems. Group members can relate to one another because they tend to come from the same community and have learned about the benefit of empathic listening. This safe space to talk in and be heard contributes to clients’ sense of belonging and reduces stigma surrounding mental health and sharing of personal issues.
In the CKT groups, clients are engaged in revenue generating opportunities - learning to crochet items out of recycled plastic bags and old VHS tape ribbon, chicken rearing, gardening, and detergent and soap making among other activities. So beyond the group being a form of ongoing support and behavioural activation, it becomes a vital part of the Friendship Bench intervention due to the need for income generation in a communities going through socio-economic distress.
OUR JOURNEY
Friendship Bench started in 2016 in a small township called Mbare in Harare, Zimbabwe after the tragic loss of one of Prof. Dixon Chibanda's patient who could not afford bus fare to come see him. Friendship Bench was born in an effort to bring mental health support to the community. Read more about the Friendship Bench journey HERE.