The More We Are Together, The Happier We Are: Peer Music in Mental Health Treatment in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Ruth Verhey is a clinical psychologist involved in developing and running the Friendship Bench, a comprehensive, group based mental healthcare initiative in Harare, Zimbabwe.  In 2013, she invited Jeffrey Angell, a music therapist from New York City, to facilitate one of weekly Zeebag support groups at Harare Hospital.  The Zeebag group is comprised of eight women who suffer from depression.  The essay provides Jeffrey's first person accounts of this experience, as well as describing the music, music process, and how these intergrate into the peer empowerment model of the Frienship Bench.