Imagine you’re struggling with serious problems in your life that you can’t cope with, like relationship problems or losing your job. Perhaps you’re going through a mental health problem, like anxiety. You can’t get to a psychologist or psychiatrist, because there just aren’t any where you live, or because it’s too expensive to see one. In Zimbabwe, where there are only 18 psychiatrists in the country, or where people are too impoverished to even afford bus fares to visit a healthcare facility, a WHO-recognised initiative called Friendship Bench brings mental health support to the community by training grandmothers in talk therapy. Dr Ruth Verhey, International Friendship Bench Lead, joins Ellisha Othman, Managing Director of Thrive Well, to discuss the role of lay people in providing mental health support in the community.

Image credit: Friendship Bench