From Zimbabwe to New York City, Expanding Quality Mental Health Access – the Friendship Bench with Dr. Dixon Chibanda (272)

Reconnecting to natural, community-based healing radically expands options for mental healthcare. This is a don’t episode if you care about your community. Using grandmothers and indigenous wisdom means effective care is possible everywhere…

Sue Marriott continues practical exploration of liberation psychology and communty-centered care by learning from Zimbabwe-based psychiatrist, Dr. Dixon Chibanda. Don’t miss the first episode about this research based program. Dr. Chibanda shares his powerful story behind the Friendship Bench, a community-based mental health model that centers healing in the heart of local communities and his new book, launching this week!

They explores how grandmothers (not youth or grandfather’s so much – find out why) are often overlooked in traditional mental health systems. Tapping them they can play a vital role in offering care, connection, and wisdom.Dr. Chibanda discusses the barriers to accessing mental health services, the role of storytelling in the healing process, and the global expansion of their research-based program, the Friendship Bench.

Grounded in research and lived experience, this conversation invites a rethinking of care—away from over-medicalization and toward more accessible, human-centered approaches.

“Every one of us carries a powerful seed that is meant to grow and be shared for the betterment of our community and the world” – Dr. Dixon Chibanda Time Stamps for Indigenous Mental Health, the Friendship Bench with Dr. Dixon Chibanda (271)

02:34 The role of community elders in mental health
05:16 The Friendship Bench: A community-based mental health solution
10:14 The impact of storytelling on healing
13:18 Replication of the friendship bench model globally
18:43 Challenges and obstacles in implementation
32:11 The impact of the friendship bench in urban settings
48:44 Vision for future mental health initiatives

About our Guest – Dr. Dixon Chibanda

Dixon Chibanda is a leader in the global conversation to democratize mental health care. He is a professor of psychiatry, published researcher, author, advocate, public speaker, and the found of Friendship Bench. He has been featured on the Financial Times, PBS NewsHour Brief But Spectacular episode, Positive News, and has written about his work for The Guardian, LA Times, Project Syndicate and has spoken to audiences at the World Economic Forum, Skoll World Forum, World Health Assembly, the Aspen Ideas Festival, and the TEDWomen conference. As a practising medical doctor, professor of psychiatry & global mental health at the University of Zimbabwe and The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Dixon has explored the intersection of indigenous knowledge and western models of care to develop sustainable interventions in global health. His TED talk on why he trains grandmothers to treat depression describes the journey of the Friendship Bench. Over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications of the program are accessible online. He has been for over a decade a key player in bringing the various stakeholders from local health authorities, health professionals, national and international researchers, and donors together to form successful collaborations.

Resources for Where Grandmas & Healing Meet: The Friendship Bench with Dr. Dixon Chibanda (271)

The Friendship Bench: How Fourteen Grandmothers Inspired a Mental Health Revolution – Get your copy here!

Dixon’s website – Website, resources & information

The Friendship Bench – Website, information & resources

Friendship Bench Youtube Channel – Videos and other content

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