Media Mentions

Zimbabwe’s Friendship Bench - The Borgen Project

The Borgen Project · Aug 15, 2025

According to experts, scaling the Friendship Bench model further will depend on strong collaboration between Zimbabwe’s government...

The loneliest continent: epidemic of social isolation hits Africans as western culture spreads - The Guardian

The Guardian · Aug 12, 2025

A World Health Organization study challenges traditional views of African society. Some blame technology, others urbanisation and living costs, but …

The Friendship Bench uses healing power of grandparents - NBC4 Washington

NBC4 Washington · Jun 04, 2025

A global mental health movement that started in Africa takes free therapy to underserved communities using the wisdom and life …

Brief But Spectacular: The New Longevity - AARP

AARP · May 25, 2025

AARP is proud to sponsor the Brief But Spectacular Longevity Series on PBS, showcasing stories that reflect our commitment to …

Through 'The Friendship Bench,' grandmothers address a mental health crisis - WBUR

WBUR · Apr 23, 2025

Psychiatrist Dixon Chibanda enlisted the help of 14 grandmothers to provide counseling to Zimbabwe's woefully underserved population.

‘Friendship benches’ to offer free mental health support in Sussex - The Guardian

The Guardian · Apr 08, 2025

Counsellors called ‘grandmothers’ and ‘grandfathers’ will provide listening ear through Zimbabwe-founded initiative

Here’s How Dr. Dixon Chibanda and 14 Grandmothers Created “The Friendship Bench” and Inspired a Mental Health Revolution - The Sunday Paper

The Sunday Paper · Apr 05, 2025

More than 20 years ago, psychiatrist Dr. Dixon Chibanda witnessed a heartbreaking problem in his native Zimbabwe: people near and …

Washington adopts a Zimbabwe innovation: Grannies offering park-bench therapy - The Christian Science Monitor

The Christian Science Monitor · Feb 21, 2025

In Zimbabwe, therapy-trained grandmothers, sitting on public benches, offer personal comfort to those in need. The idea has spread to …

Watch Sunday Morning: Talk therapy on the Friendship Bench - Full show on CBS - CBS

CBS · Feb 09, 2025

Watch Sunday Morning: Talk therapy on the Friendship Bench - Full show on CBS CBS

Brief But Spectacular: The New Longevity - PBS

PBS · Sep 16, 2024

Older adults will soon outnumber children on a global scale. Around the world, people in their 60s and beyond are …

WATCH: This 'Friendship Bench' is pulling on the healing power of grandmothers - PBS

PBS · Sep 16, 2024

"The Friendship Bench" recruits grandmothers as mental health counselors to bridge the mental health treatment gap in Zimbabwe.

A Bench and a Grandma - God's World News

God's World News · Sep 01, 2024

Zimbabwe employs a novel mental health therapy that involves benches and grandmas.

Grannies on Friendship Bench help Zimbabweans deal with mental health issues - africanews.com

africanews.com · Aug 13, 2024

The therapy is inspired by traditional practice in Zimbabwe in which grandmothers were the go-to people for wisdom in rough …

Zimbabwean creates Grannies on Friendship Bench project to handle mental health issues, it is now being adopted in U.S. - Face2Face Africa

Face2Face Africa · Jul 19, 2024

HelpAge USA is also exploring the concept in Washington as part of the DC Grandparents for Mental Health initiative.

Park Benches And Grandmothers: Zimbabwe's Novel Mental Health Therapy Spreads Overseas - VOA Zimbabwe

VOA Zimbabwe · Jul 09, 2024

HARARE, ZIMBABWE (AP) — After her son, the family’s shining light and only breadwinner, was arrested last year, Tambudzai Tembo …

From Africa, a Push to Boost Mental Health and Friendship Benches Go Global - MindSite News

MindSite News · Jul 08, 2024

A bench and a grandmother's ear: Zimbabwe’s novel mental health therapy spreads overseas - AP News

AP News · Jul 07, 2024

In Zimbabwe, talk therapy involving park benches and a network of grandmothers has become a saving grace for people with …

Zimbabwe's friendship bench: The grandmother-led mental health therapy making waves worldwide | Health - Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times · Jul 05, 2024

Zimbabwe's friendship bench: The grandmother-led mental health therapy making waves worldwide | Health Hindustan Times

Friendship Bench: a community led approach to mental health care - King's College London

King's College London · Jun 04, 2024

The burden of mental illness is felt profoundly in communities who have less access to mental health support. In Zimbabwe, …

Zimbabwe: low-cost, brief psychological intervention helps people with HIV stay virally suppressed - Aidsmap

Google News: Friendship Bench or Dixon Chibanda · Apr 12, 2024

Results from a study published in PLOS Global Public Health show that people with HIV and common mental disorders in …

Friendship Bench reimagines mental health care - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · Feb 15, 2024

The global mental health crisis requires new approaches - vijesti.me

vijesti.me · Feb 14, 2024

Even the psychiatric systems of rich countries do not have the capacity to offer traditional mental health services to the …

Friendship Bench 'grandmothers' could help control HIV - King's College London

King's College London · Jan 25, 2024

Friendship Bench therapy delivered by community ‘grandmothers’ could empower people living with HIV to take their medication, according to new …

Friendship Bench ‘grandmothers’ could help control HIV - The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · Jan 25, 2024