Samaritans Reviews 

I've never rang Samaritans before but I spoke to a lady called Sam tonight. We were on the phone together for one hour. I went from being so broken and sad to being able to see what I've got. She was amazing and some of the things she said will stay with me forever. She made a difference at the right time and I guess I got to speak to someone who actually cared. I basically poured everything out to her and she listened, asked appropriate questions, made me laugh, made me realise a few things. Thank you Sam. I wish you all the best.

Being in the depths of How reaching out to a weird number at a weird time of day to explain to a stranger who answers the phone with hello given them all your time and effort, strengths and weaknesses and the reason you got here for them to tell you, it's okay you're a warrior and we're here if you need to call back........

I waited until I felt desperate for help. I have phoned twice in the last year and both times it went straight to voicemail

Struggle to get through to somebody. In 2019 I could often get through to somebody after a 5/10 min wait day or night. My experience this past year has been unless I call week day mornings before 1 I can't get through to anyone. When I did the volunteer was good, they listened.

Rand Samaritans this evening, very upset and suicidal thoughts.

Spoke for around 10 min , then lady said it’s end of my shift and had to end the call .

Discusting , why not put me through to someone else , but no, not interested.

I spoke to a women for nearly an hour. She didn't judge me or criticise my negative thoughts. I was feeling suicidal and very upset. I calmed down as I spoke about the issues in my life and I felt better after talking. She encouraged me to see a way forward. An invaluable service.

said they couldn't hear me as soon as they picked up after me waiting for 10 mins. appalling.

Seen a few bad reviews on here about samaritans and honestly I rthink it’s really not fair. Firstly they're all listening VOLUNTEERS! they aren't paid for anything, they’re just normal people giving up their own time to listen when someone needs to talk. they’re there 24 hours a day. So give them a break for gods sake!

i’ve called a few times myself and yeah some are better than others but that’s life. everyone’s different. some talk more, some just listen, some are older, some younger. You get on better with certain ones, but they all care enough to answer the phone when you really need someone there

Try putting yourself in there shoes, becuasue they must hear some really tough stuff from callers, with all kinds of mental heath issues, Ptsd, drug problems,, alcoholism, lonely, stressed, depressed, people dying of cancer, suicidal, abused, the list must go on! especially in middle of the night too which is when it takes longer to get the through to them, but they still do it.
if they weren’t there who else is there to ring? NHS is full, crisis lines and 111 just tell you to ring samaritans anyway!

so yeah, thank you to all of them who give their time to listen. and thank you to the last person i spoke to, Kyle/carl you really helped me that night and made me feel so much better about my Situation! Bless you
So, to anyone reading this, Maybe instead of intending on leaving a bad review, take a look at yourself and ask yourself, who else have you got to talk too. most people who have a good experience don’t bother leaving a positive review, they just hang up feeling better than they did before they rang or bit less alone or just glad to have talked to somone about there thoughts, i know i did. I think it's selfish to deter someone from using this service because you had a bad experience! I can honestly say if Samaritans wasn't available I wouldn’t be here to write this message. Thank you for this FREE SERVICE! It's a god send
IF YOU ARE FEELING SUICIDAL OR JUST NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE, DON'T LET THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS PUT YOU OFF! PLEASE, JUST RING THEM!

This service is so POOR it should be shut down! When I rang in a crisis I was connected to an older lady who seemed offended that a man had called; with an attitude that said you’re a man grow a pair. She has no sympathetic tone nor did she listen. These people need to be vetted and trained! It is abysmal the way that they treat people in crisis. If you aren’t suicidal before you will be after a phone call to the Samaritans. Honestly they should be taken to court for how badly run they are, or shut down completely, what do they do exactly, because they certainly don’t listen or help!

After trying to use the service for what it claims to be there for , over a number of years I tend to believe the majority of reviews on here. As a pose to the minority of positive ones.
The majority of calls where I've tried to get heard are not a case of the volunteer struggling to find something to say. In fact there lies the problem they have a lot to say in terms of negative feedback and depowering responses to make a caller feel more alone in their experiences and thoughts . Volunteer's seem to thrive on , interrogating callers in a one sided closed policing manner. As I've said before it is far from one rotten apple. As other's state they will take up huge chuck's of a call fixating on suicidal thoughts and negative situations. Then abruptly end the call when it seems they are satisfied that they have parked the caller psychologically in a negative space. That is far below and beyond being a listening service that is what it is . Assisted negativity . The training methods need to be investigated and so does this company as a whole.
It is just ridiculous to purport that they are all volunteers. As it is untrue . A number of their personal are paid employees earning money out of a service that supports people to feel more negative and alone.

Yes, I have experienced some call handlers that make me feel judged, guilty, even more sad or worse, like a burden, but the majority of the time, my experience has been positive.
These are VOLUNTEERS. We call them because we need to speak to a stranger. They are just people! To expect them all to know exactly what to say all the time is ridiculous - they deserve as much grace as we do.
Thank you all for trying. I really appreciate your service.

Many of them seem to prefer you being really low and self-destructive. Randomly ask if you're suicidal, when you say no they sound disappointed. Asking this when you're just talking generally is upsetting and inappropriate. I've mentioned this and they answer in a nonchalant way. Think it's a typically British toxic organisation. One guy even said you shouldn't call if you're not suicidal. Wrong! So few show any care or empathy and many seem to want the 'gossip'. Sometimes it's an interrogation, which is just rude. What's my job for example got to do with anything? Gave it 2 stars as occasionally I get a gem which is wonderful and can really. I end the conversation with the uncaring ones and call back. Pretty ridiculous all round, it's dangerous and as I say toxic to have screwed up people taking calls. They need to call in some time. Honestly, mental health services are horrendous in this country. Judgemental, nasty people are rife across them.

Just got over the text with them and all they did was guilt trip

I called them at 4am this morning, the person on the phone helped me breathe and then talked me through what was going, and was very reassuring, they asked about what else was going on, because it was clear that what started my panic attack was "the straw that broke the cammels back" I got very overwhelmed by this question, but they were very patient and when I was able to talk again, they were very attentive and reassuring.

It's a shame these hotlines are so stigmatized, because there are so many times in the past where I would have really benefitted from this service.

I used to be a samaritan myself so understood the ethos etc.. however, when I found myself lonely and in crisis the twice I rang in one evening and the two separate " listeners " did not listen at all! Both times they seemed bored, cold and uninterested. Such a shame.

i rang in because i was extremely upset and felt completely isolated and alone in terms of my health issues. i am experiencing extreme isolation and depression because i physically cannot do much anymore and i told the lady that i have several physical symptoms that cannot be anxiety yet the doctors always brush me off and refuse testing because they say im a young woman so its likely anxiety.

the lady then said “yeah it does seem like youre having panic attacks”

…. i rang in because i felt invalidated about my health issues that i KNOW are not anxiety, just to be further invalidated. its almost comedic irony

Absolutely useless. It’s a messed up world when suicidal people are palmed off with this worthless crap and receive no actual help. It’s a cycle and offensive

I've been traumatised so much calling this helpline that just the voice automated call at the start of the call triggers me. It's an appalling service with people who want to cause harm to you. When you point out that they aren't supporting you just asking questions they have a bad attitude said they have listened and just want end the call.
Support is empathising, understanding & validating someones feelings. I dont think anyone working there knows what that means?
Some people on these lines are also abusive themselves, make you feel safe to open up only initially by being friendly to be treated like sh**. It irritates me when people who haven't used this service speaks highly of them when they are purely out to make profit and hit targets of number of calls, not caring about the peoples lives they are destroying. They don't even deserve the 1 star. Maybe change your name? Certainly haven't spoken to a good samaritan calling you.

The usual British disease I’m afraid “Lions led by Donkeys”. Result… ALL Donkeys!

Samaritas are not to be trusted, they have tried to persuade me into taking my own life, they lie about confidentiality, they are prejudicial, Samaritas are a true reflection of how corrupt and duplicitous the world can be, if you try to talk about your own life experience they often challenge and say this couldn't of happened, regarding my early and current life, sad they are not what they should be, if you complain they block your number too, sad, sad, sad.