The Friendship Bench

friendship bench

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The Friendship Bench

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Sometimes I feel a bit hopeless about the problems our world faces – from climate change, to advancing technology, to rising rates of depression and anxiety.

And other times, I come across an idea that gives me a bit of hope.

The idea I discovered this week came from the podcast Solvable. And it has a happy name:

The Friendship Bench

Zimbabwe has a pretty severe mental health crisis. Many of their citizens experience depression and anxiety, leading to an extremely high rate of suicide. On top of that, the country has virtually no mental health care.

High rates of poverty and shockingly few trained professionals (I’m talking less than 20 for a population of 14 million) make it difficult for people with depression to receive the help they need.

So they had to get creative. And thus, the Friendship Bench was launched.

The idea is simple. Community grandmothers are trained in specific counseling techniques and protocols. Unique benches are set up around accessible areas. And… people feeling depressed or anxious stop by the benches and talk to them.

The setup taps into one of our most innate evolutionary needs: a need for belonging.

Researchers identified that many of Zimbabwe’s citizens were lacking connection. They had other problems, yes, but they didn’t have anyone to talk them through with. And the bench not only helped them. The project gave elderly women in the area a newfound sense of purpose, as well.

The idea sounds great in theory – but did it work?

Not only did a small team of psychologists launch the idea, but they researched it in depth. The results are astounding:

  • 14% of patients in Friendship Bench problem-solving group experienced symptoms of depression after 6 months compared to 50% patients in the control group
  • 48% of patients who received standard care still had symptoms of anxiety compared to 12% who received Friendship Bench
  • 12% of patients who received standard care still had suicidal thoughts compared to 2% who received Friendship Bench

To date, over 40,000 participants have taken advantage of the Friendship Bench in Zimbabwe.

Because of its success, the Friendship Bench model has spread around the world, fueled by the studies published about its merits.

It’s even made its way to the United States. In NYC, ThriveNYC has started its own series of Friendship Benches to provide affordable, accessible mental health care to city residents (although no substantial research has been undertaken yet). Other countries have implemented small versions as well.

Dr. Chibanda, one of the founders in Zimbabwe, hopes to see one in every city of the world.

As the numbers of depression and anxiety skyrocket, it can feel overwhelming to try to tackle such a large-scale, complicated problem.

But maybe, it doesn’t need to be that complicated. Maybe it’s a more straightforward problem than we think, with a more straightforward solution.

We feel depressed and anxious when our need for belonging isn’t met. So let’s invent more ways to create authentic, real human connection.

Why not start with a bench?

.

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