Tag: PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT

Navigating the Midlife Crisis: Understanding Its Impact on Mental Health and Strategies for Resilience

Healthtimes

By Method Moyo Tariro and Blessing (pseudonyms) have been married for over twenty years. From the outside, they appear settled with two grown children, a modest home in Kwekwe, and years of shared memories. However, inside their quiet house, a storm brews. As the Shona proverb says, “Chakafukidza dzimba matenga.” Tariro, now 47, feels invisible. Her days are filled with caregiving, church commitments, and the struggle of adjusting to a body she no longer recognizes. Blessing, 52, is restless—questioning his career, masculinity, and whether he has lived up to the…

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Zimbabwe’s Mobile One-Stop Centres Reveal Growing Cases of Women Abusing Men

Michael Gwarisa
A counselor speaks with a man at a Zimbabwe mobile one-stop centre for gender-based violence survivors, highlighting the growing number of men reporting abuse by women.

By Michael Gwarisa in Mutoko Mobile One-Stop Centres (MOSCs), designed to support survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), are revealing a lesser-known reality in Zimbabwe: men being physically and verbally abused by their female partners. These centres provide a safe space for men and women alike to report abuse and access critical services, challenging traditional perceptions that GBV affects only women. “My wife cut me with a knife,” said 51-year-old Shadreck Madziwa* from Mutoko, Mashonaland Central. “We had an argument, and she grabbed a knife and stabbed me. She joined hands…

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Regional Psychosocial Support Forum Kicks Off

Michael Gwarisa

THE 6th Edition of the Psychosocial Support Forum (PPS Forum), a hybrid meeting in which discussions are being held both virtually and physically, commenced today with a Children’s Forum ahead of the adult event to be held next week from 13 to 15 October. By Michael Gwarisa The pre-adult forum saw children from 13 countries from East and Southern Africa attending and deliberating on various issues that children and young people face, with the aim of coming up with a Children’s advocacy position they will present at the adult forum…

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Study Endorses Psychosocial Therapy In Low and Middle Income Countries

Healthtimes

AS Zimbabwe’s Health and Child Care Ministry intends to adopt the Friendship Bench community mental health initiative, a research published on Lancet Psychiatry has shown that psychosocial therapy interventions is effective in bridging the mental health gap in low income and middle income countries. By Kudakwashe Pembere In Zimbabwe, there is a globally renowned intervention named the Friendship Bench where community health workers such as the Mbuya Utsanana and even the youth are used as psychotherapists. The Health Ministry in its 2019-2023 Mental Health Strategic Plan in the adoption of…

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Save The Children Offers Psychosocial Support To Cyclone Idai Affected Children

Healthtimes

SAVE The Children Zimbabwe is currently offering Psychosocial Support Services (PSS) to children in Cyclone Idai affected communities in a bid to empower children to overcome fear through building resilience as well as develop coping mechanisms. By Michael Gwarisa Through the use of a PSS toolkit called Singing to the lion’s by Dr Jonathan Brakash a Clinical psychologis, Save the Children has reached a total of 1463 children comprising of 777 girls and 686 boys with PSS activities that are implemented at two Child Friendly spaces they have set up…

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