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Six minutes English.

From BBC learning English.

com. from BBC Learning English. English. Hello, this is Six 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 program, 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 Jibanda 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 Behavioral Therapy? Well, I think I'll say C. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

Well, I think I'll say C Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Okay, 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.

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