Pharmacist-Led Mental Health Counseling and Patient Outcomes at Community Pharmacies in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory

Community pharmacists occupy a uniquely accessible position in the healthcare system and increasingly serve as informal mental health touchpoints, yet their capacity for structured psychiatric counseling remains underdeveloped in Nigeria. This study evaluates pharmacist-led mental health counseling interventions and their impact on patient outcomes at community pharmacies in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, North Central Nigeria. A quasi-experimental pre-post design will recruit 120 patients presenting with anxiety or depression-related complaints at 10 purposively selected community pharmacies. A structured six-session pharmacist counseling protocol informed by psychoeducation principles will be implemented over eight weeks. The GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scales will assess anxiety and depression outcomes at baseline and follow-up. Pharmacist competency assessments will be conducted pre-intervention to evaluate training needs. Descriptive and paired t-test analyses will examine pre-post changes in patient outcomes. This study responds to growing calls within Nigeria's pharmaceutical sector for expanded clinical roles and will contribute evidence for pharmacist integration into community mental health services in urban FCT. Keywords: pharmacist counseling, mental health, community pharmacy, Abuja, patient outcomes