FRIENDSHIP BENCH MEDIA KIT

The Friendship Bench Inc is a is a Non-profit Organization registered in the United States of America as a 501(c)3 non-profit, and in Zimbabwe as a Private Voluntary Organization (PVO 12/21). The Friendship Bench Inc operates as Friendship Bench. Our vision is a Friendship Bench within walking distance for all. With this inspiration, our mission is to get people out of depression - by creating safe spaces and a sense of belonging in communities to improve mental wellbeing and enhance the quality of life.

Friendship Bench was founded in Zimbabwe, and has been replicated in 9 countries ( El Salvador, Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, USA, UK, Colombia, and Vietnam). Friendship Bench has made significant impact in addressing mental health challenges through innovative community-based approaches. The Friendship Bench model is providing mental health support, training, and resources to support individuals and communities thrive. Friendship Bench partners with organizations and government structures to deliver the model, adapting to the unique cultural needs of each country through the FB In A Box - our refined blueprint for implementation.

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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. 

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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:

1. Level 1 - Opening the Mind (Kuvhura Pfungwa in Shona)

2. Level 2 - Uplifting (Kusimudzira)

3. 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.