BBC Learnings · Section 7

Grandma therapy in Zimbabwe

Sam, have you ever heard the expression, a problem shared is a problem halved?

Level: C1 · 102 sentences

Transcript

  1. Sam, have you ever heard the expression,
  2. a problem shared is a problem halved?
  3. Yes, Neil, I have. Doesn't it
  4. mean that people often feel better
  5. after talking about their problems with someone?
  6. Right. In this programme, we'll be hearing the extraordinary story
  7. of how these ideas were taken up
  8. by a team of community grandmothers in Zimbabwe.
  9. Zimbabwe has over 14 million people but fewer than 20 psychiatrists.
  10. After years of economic turmoil, unemployment and HIV,
  11. mental health is a huge challenge and doctors estimate
  12. that one in four Zimbabweans suffers from depression or anxiety.
  13. When it proved impossible to find
  14. free space to use in hospitals,
  15. psychiatrist Dr Dixon Chibanda came up with the idea
  16. of turning public park benches into spaces for therapy.
  17. He recruited grandmothers who have both free time
  18. and plenty of life experience to talk with individuals struggling
  19. with mental health issues like depression, anxiety and trauma.
  20. The grandmothers are drawn from the local community and trained
  21. over several weeks in a talking therapy called CBT.
  22. But what does that abbreviation, CBT,
  23. stand for? That's my quiz question.
  24. Is it a chatting-based therapy, b conversation brain therapy,
  25. or c cognitive behavioural therapy?
  26. Well, I think I'll say c cognitive behavioural therapy.
  27. OK, Sam, we'll find out later.
  28. Now, although the recent history of Zimbabwe
  29. has left millions struggling with mental health issues,
  30. At the start of his project,
  31. Dr Dixon Chibanda was the only psychiatrist working
  32. in public health in the whole country.
  33. And as well as a lack of provision,
  34. many villagers were suspicious of talking therapy,
  35. preferring to rely on traditional faith healers instead.
  36. Which is why when Kim Chaconnetza
  37. of BBC World Service's The Documentary podcast spoke to Dr Dixon Chibanda,
  38. she started by asking him whether
  39. people were supportive of his idea.
  40. Initially, there was a lot of scepticism, a lot of resistance,
  41. particularly from colleagues who thought this was not evidence-based
  42. and it wasn't going to work.
  43. The whole idea of training grandmothers, I mean,
  44. this has not been done anywhere else in the world.
  45. So naturally, there was resistance. Were you at all apprehensive?
  46. I was, to be quite honest.
  47. At first, Dr Dixon Shibanda's ideas were met with scepticism.
  48. an attitude of doubting whether something is useful or true.
  49. Grandma benches were a totally new idea,
  50. never seen before anywhere in the world,
  51. and so his colleagues naturally felt some resistance,
  52. refusal to accept a change or new idea.
  53. Which left Dr Dixon Shibanda feeling a little apprehensive,
  54. worried that something bad was going to happen to his project.
  55. Fortunately, as it turned out, Dr Dixon Chibanda's apprehensions were wrong.
  56. Grandmothers are highly respected in Zimbabwean society and as they started listening,
  57. people began opening up and telling their stories.
  58. The Grandma Benches have empowered over 50,000 people
  59. to deal with their life problems
  60. and Dr Dixon Chibanda even has plans to move his idea online,
  61. giving the world access to a virtual friendship bench.
  62. Here he is again explaining on the BBC World Service's The Documentary podcast
  63. why he believes his ideas have been so successful.
  64. It works because it's simple, it's cheap
  65. and it's run by communities, particularly grandmothers,
  66. who are in essence a resource in African communities.
  67. You know, they are the custodians of local culture and wisdom.
  68. That's why it works.
  69. And it, I guess, does away with Western concepts
  70. which remove the stigma that is normally associated with mental illness.
  71. Clients are willing to share their problems with the grandmother therapists
  72. because they are respected as cultural custodians.
  73. People with responsibility for taking care of something
  74. or trying to protect ideas or principles.
  75. In this case, local customs and wisdom.
  76. This helps do away with or remove
  77. the stigma attached to mental health –
  78. strong feelings of shame or disapproval which most members
  79. of a community have towards something, such as psychological illness.
  80. For Zimbabweans suffering domestic violence, unemployment and dealing with HIV,
  81. having a grandmother to talk to really can change their perceptions
  82. about how problems can be managed.
  83. So, it seems true that a problem shared is a problem halved,
  84. which reminds me of our quiz question, Sam.
  85. Ah yes, you asked me what the talking therapy abbreviated to CBT
  86. stands for and I said C – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
  87. Which is absolutely right!
  88. CBT – a way of managing problems
  89. by changing ways of thinking and behaving.
  90. So, this week we've been hearing the inspiring story
  91. of Zimbabwean Dr Dixon Shibanda's Grandma Bench Therapy,
  92. an idea which was initially met with scepticism, a doubtful attitude,
  93. and resistance, refusal to change and accept new ideas.
  94. Dr Dixon Chibanda's feelings of apprehension,
  95. worries that the project would fail,
  96. proved false when his team of grandmother therapists were treated as custodians,
  97. or protectors, of wisdom and life experience,
  98. who really could help people suffering depression, poverty and trauma.
  99. The success of the project helped do away
  100. with or remove strong feelings of shame
  101. or disapproval felt by many people regarding mental health,
  102. known as stigma.