OUR PROGRAMS
using the fb in a box our diy toolkit
we train individuals and groups to provide basic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with an emphasis on Problem Solving Therapy, activity scheduling and peer led group support.
Friendship Bench trains grandmothers, grandfathers and the youth 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. We train grandmothers, grandfathers and the youth to deliver the talk therapy intervention to people with mild to moderate level common mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression. During training, a referral pathway is established for cases which are considered ‘red flags’ where a higher level of care is needed.
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Free Talk Therapy
Friendship Bench trains community health workers (also known as lay health workers). Through these community health workers (CHWs) we are able to bring the Friendship Bench in the community - bridging the mental health treatment gap at primary care level. 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.
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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 PST 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 income generating opportunities, such as learning to crochet items out of recycled plastic and old VHS tape ribbon, vegetable gardening, bread baking, chicken rearing! So beyond the group being a form of ongoing support and behavioural activation, it becomes a vital part of the intervention due to the need for income generation in a country going through socio-economic distress.
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