Media Mentions

Global mental health crisis demands new thinking| Gulf Times - Gulf Times

Gulf Times · Jan 16, 2024

The world is in the grip of a mental health crisis. From rising climate anxiety in rich countries like the …

How counsellor-grandmothers of Zimbabwe are averting a mental health crisis - Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera · Jan 10, 2024

Initiative, started in 2006, addresses shortage of psychosocial help and abundance of mental health issues in Zimbabwe.

A grandmother’s empathy offers a safe space for people with mental health conditions - Boehringer Ingelheim

Boehringer Ingelheim · Nov 20, 2023

How Athens County is using ‘friendship benches’ to address a growing public health concern - The Statehouse News Bureau

The Statehouse News Bureau · Nov 17, 2023

The county adopted the idea of friendship benches from Zimbabwe. It aims to address social isolation by bringing trained health …

Zimbabwe’s therapeutic ‘friendship benches’, coming to a city near you - Positive News

Positive News · Jul 26, 2023

A mental health project in Zimbabwe that employs grandmothers to deliver therapy in towns is being rolled out globally. Up …

Friendship Bench training program helps community members offer a listening ear - WOUB Public Media -

WOUB Public Media - · May 23, 2023

Friendship Bench training program helps community members offer a listening ear WOUB Public Media -

Friendship Benches Provide Community Mental Health - Smiley Movement

Smiley Movement · Apr 12, 2023

Zimbabwe's Friendship Bench project provides vital community support for mental health, offering safe spaces for open dialogue and ongoing emotional …

A group of grandmothers in Zimbabwe is helping the world reimagine mental health care - The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe · Feb 02, 2023

The Friendship Bench is inexpensive, easy to replicate, and effective. Could it work here?

‘Our vision is a Friendship Bench within walking distance—everywhere’ - McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company · Dec 09, 2022

Poor countries are developing a new paradigm of mental health care. America is taking note. - vox.com

vox.com · Nov 28, 2022

This is what the future of mental health could look like.

Zimbabwe’s ‘mental health benches’ exported to the World Cup - The Mail & Guardian

The Mail & Guardian · Nov 11, 2022

The therapy model is now being exported to the football World Cup in Qatar, where 32 benches, each representing a …

Global Mental Health: Friendship bench - evolution of a task-shifting model - The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · Oct 31, 2022

The story of depression and how we treat it - Africa Is a Country

Africa Is a Country · Sep 15, 2022

A new book weaves science, history, philosophy and personal narrative in a refreshing and more globally inclusive look at depression.

Funding boost for Friendship Bench scheme to improve people’s mental health - The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · Apr 12, 2022

This is the first chapter 1 of the Wellcome Global Monitor 2020: Mental Health - wellcome.org

wellcome.org · Oct 19, 2021

Friendship Bench: Zimbabwe’s Community-based Talk-Therapy Supporting Communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic - Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance · Jan 27, 2021

In Zimbabwe, Friendship Bench, a community-based approach is providing solutions to people struggling with their mental health during this pandemic.

Coronavirus in Zimbabwe: 'We need vaccines now' - BBC

BBC · Jan 25, 2021

Zimbabwean doctor Dixon Chibanda explains why it's so vital that Zimbabwe gets vaccines urgently.

Dixon Chibanda on his revolutionary mental health intervention - RNZ

RNZ · Aug 08, 2020

Dixon Chibanda is one of only 12 psychiatrists in Zimbabwe serving a population of more than 16 million people: and …

Therapy at the bench - Nature

Nature · Jun 16, 2020

Psychiatrist Dixon Chibanda trains teams of grandmothers to provide open-air counselling sessions in Zimbabwe.

Persistent depression is more likely in those who also experience symptoms of anxiety - The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · May 27, 2020

How a bench and a team of grandmothers can tackle depression - BBC

BBC · May 27, 2020

Who Are the Ordinary Heroes of 2019? (Published 2019) - The New York Times

The New York Times · Dec 20, 2019

'Friendship Bench': scaling up mental health services in Zimbabwe - King's College London

King's College London · Oct 17, 2019

Mental health care for all: how community-led innovations are taking root - The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine · Oct 11, 2019