Friendship benches to offer free mental health support

Public benches where people who are depressed, lonely or anxious can receive free support are being introduced across Sussex through a scheme that has proved popular around the world.

- Amelia Hill

The Friendship Bench project offers anyone passing the benches a chance to share their problems with lay counsellors who are known as "grandmothers" and "grandfathers".

Analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the scheme resulted in an 80% reduction in depression and suicidal thoughts and a 60% increase in quality of life.

After six months, 80% of those who had sat down to chat with a lay counsellor were still symptom-free.

Founded in Zimbabwe by Prof Dixon Chibanda in 2006, the model has spread to cities and countries including New York, Washington DC, Qatar and Jordan.

In the past three years alone, with the support of the World Health Organization, more than half a million people have benefited.

Now Dr Nina Lockwood, a research fellow at Brighton and Sussex medical school and the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is introducing the scheme to Sussex.