Listening Friends is our peer support service. This peer support service offers you the choice of speaking in confidence and anonymously to one of our trained volunteer pharmacists.
Listening Friends is our peer support service. This peer support service allows you to speak in confidence and anonymously to one of our trained volunteer pharmacists – a Listening Friend. Listening Friends are likely to be familiar with a range of pharmacy-related concerns and, through this telephone service, you have the opportunity to talk about the stresses or pressures working in or studying pharmacy may be causing you.
Our volunteers do not provide advice, but are trained to listen with empathy and will offer you a listening ear and a safe, non-judgemental space to talk through your concerns to help you find clarity and perspective, realise you’re not alone and hopefully begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. They can also signpost you to other organisations who can provide further specialised help and support via our website or our Information and Enquiries Team.
This service covers a variety of issues, but most commonly pharmacists contact us if they are dealing with difficult working relationships or workplace pressure. Listening Friends offers you the chance to speak in confidence to another pharmacist. Here are some examples of instances where a call to one of our Listening Friends may help:
Asmita found the last year very difficult. She is struggling with loneliness without the support of her friends through the pandemic. People at her workplace are struggling as well and she feels that her manager takes his frustration out on her. She is concerned about workplace bullying and is starting to feel anxious about going to work.
Michael is a trainee pharmacist. He is struggling with the demands of the job and feels worried about how he will do in the upcoming assessment. He finds himself imagining the worst outcome and it distracts him from revising.
Pharmacists should note that our peer support offering does not qualify as evidence of peer discussion for the purposes of revalidation.
To request a Listening Friend, please call (freephone) our Enquiries Line on 0808 168 2233 or email info@pharmacistsupport.org
Please note this is not an emergency service. If you have seriously harmed yourself – call 999 for an ambulance or go straight to A&E. If you are suffering a mental health emergency you can get help via A&E or by contacting your GP for an emergency appointment. If you are feeling suicidal, immediately contact emergency services or a helpline listed here on the NHS website.
Any personal information you provide to the charity when applying for our services will be held securely by us and our trusted service providers. Please click here to see our full Privacy Policy.
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