Introduction Common mental disorders (CMDs) are endemic globally. The availability of evidence-based mental health interventions has grown rapidly, with many services focused on psychotherapy.
Most psychotherapies require multiple sessions, resulting in lengthy waiting times due to limited provider availability. These delays can lead to higher morbidity, poorer adherence and less favourable outcomes.
Recent research indicates that single-session therapy (SST) can be as effective as multi-session approaches and offers cost savings. This pragmatic, prospective mixed-methods pilot cohort study assesses the uptake, feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness and preliminary clinical effectiveness of SST in individuals receiving the Friendship Bench intervention.
The Friendship Bench is a task-shifting mental health intervention for individuals with low to moderate symptoms of CMDs. Methods and analysis We will conduct a pragmatic, prospective, mixed-methods pilot interventional cohort study involving 350 first-time clients of the Friendship Bench intervention in Harare and surrounding periurban areas.
We will primarily explore the intervention's feasibility, uptake, appropriateness and acceptability including the feasibility of a larger follow-up clinical trial.
BMJ Open published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 24 Jun 2026.
The item focuses on Feasibility and acceptability of lay counsellor-delivered single-session therapy: a pragmatic mixed-methods pilot cohort study protocol.
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