Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hello. This is 6 Minute English

  • from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

  • And I'm Sam.

  • Sam, have you ever heard the expression

  • 'a problem shared is a problem halved'?

  • Yes, Neil, I have. Doesn't it mean that

  • people often feel better

  • after talking about their

  • problems with someone?

  • Right - in this programme we'll be hearing

  • the extraordinary story of how these ideas

  • were taken up by a team of community

  • grandmothers in Zimbabwe.

  • Zimbabwe has over 14 million people

  • but fewer than 20 psychiatrists.

  • After years of economic

  • turmoil, unemployment and HIV, mental

  • health is a huge challenge,

  • and doctors estimate

  • that one in four Zimbabweans

  • suffers from depression or anxiety.

  • When it proved impossible to find free

  • space to use in hospitals,

  • psychiatrist Dr Dixon

  • Chibanda, came up with the idea of

  • turning public park benches

  • into spaces for therapy.

  • He recruited grandmothers, who have

  • both free time and plenty

  • of life experience, to talk

  • with individuals struggling with mental

  • health issues like depression,

  • anxiety, and trauma.

  • The grandmothers are drawn from

  • the local community and

  • trained over several weeks in

  • a talking therapy called CBT - but

  • what does that abbreviation, CBT,

  • stand for? That's

  • my quiz question. Is it:

  • a) Chatting Based Therapy?,

  • b) Conversation

  • Brain Therapy? or,

  • c) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?

  • Well, I think I'll say c) Cognitive

  • Behavioural Therapy.

  • OK, Sam, we'll find out later. Now,

  • although the recent history of

  • Zimbabwe has left millions

  • struggling with mental health issues,

  • at the start of his project, Dr Dixon

  • Chibanda was

  • the only psychiatrist working in

  • public health in the whole country.

  • And as well as a lack of provision, many

  • villagers were suspicious

  • of talking therapy, preferring

  • to rely on traditional faith healers instead.

  • Which is why when Kim Chakanetsa,

  • of BBC World Service's

  • The Documentary Podcast, spoke to

  • Dr Dixon Chibanda, she started by asking

  • him whether people were

  • supportive of his idea:

  • Initially there was a lot of scepticism,

  • a lot of resistance, particularly

  • from colleagues

  • who thought this was not evidence-based,

  • and it wasn't going to work.

  • The whole idea of

  • training grandmothers - I mean, this has

  • not been done anywhere else

  • in the world so naturally

  • there was resistance.

  • Were you at all apprehensive?

  • I was, to be quite honest.

  • At first, Dr Dixon Chibanda's ideas were

  • met with scepticism - an attitude

  • of doubting

  • whether something is useful or true.

  • 'Grandma benches' were a totally new

  • idea, never seen before anywhere

  • in the world and

  • so his colleagues naturally felt some

  • resistance - refusal to accept a change

  • or new idea.

  • Which left Dr Dixon Chibanda feeling

  • a little apprehensive - worried

  • that something bad

  • was going to happen to his project.

  • Fortunately, as it turned out, Dr Dixon

  • Chibanda's apprehensions were

  • wrong. Grandmothers are

  • highly respected in Zimbabwean society

  • and as they started listening,

  • people began opening

  • up and telling their stories.

  • The 'grandma benches' have empowered

  • over 50,000 people to deal with

  • their life problems

  • and Dr Dixon Chibanda even has plans to

  • move his idea online, giving

  • the world access to

  • a virtual Friendship Bench.

  • Here he is again, explaining on the

  • BBC World Service's The Documentary

  • Podcast why he believes

  • his ideas have been so successful:

  • It works because it's simple, it's cheap

  • and it's run by communities,

  • particularly grandmothers

  • who are in essence a resource

  • in African communities - you know,

  • they are the custodians of local

  • culture and wisdom - that's why is works,

  • and I guess, it does away

  • with western concepts

  • which remove the stigma that is normally

  • associated with mental illness.

  • Clients are willing to share their problems

  • with the grandmother-therapists

  • because they

  • are respected as cultural custodians -

  • people with responsibility for taking

  • care of something

  • or trying to protect ideas or principles,

  • in this case local customs and wisdom.

  • This helps do away with - or remove - the

  • stigma attached to mental health - strong

  • feelings of shame or disapproval which

  • most members of a community

  • have towards something,

  • such as psychological illness.

  • For Zimbabweans suffering domestic

  • violence, unemployment and

  • dealing with HIV, having

  • a grandmother to talk to really can

  • change their perceptions about

  • how problems can be

  • managed.

  • So it seems true that 'a problem shared

  • is a problem halved', which

  • reminds me of our

  • quiz question, Sam.

  • Yes. You asked me what the talking

  • therapy abbreviated to CBT

  • stands for. And I said

  • c) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

  • Which is absolutely right! CBT - a way of

  • managing problems by changing

  • ways of thinking

  • and behaving.

  • So this week we've been hearing the

  • inspiring story of Zimbabwean

  • Dr Dixon Chibanda's 'grandma

  • bench' therapy - an idea which was

  • initially met with scepticism - a

  • doubtful attitude,

  • and resistance - refusal to change

  • and accept new ideas.

  • Dr Dixon Chibanda's feelings of

  • apprehension - worries that

  • the project would fail, proved

  • false when his team of grandmother

  • therapists were treated as

  • custodians - or protectors,

  • of wisdom and life experience who really

  • could help people suffering

  • depression, poverty

  • and trauma.

  • The success of the project helped do

  • away with - or remove - strong

  • feelings of shame

  • or disapproval felt by many people

  • regarding mental health, known

  • as stigma. To hear more

  • inspiring, topical stories, join us again

  • soon here at 6 Minute English.

  • Bye for now!

  • Goodbye!