Any sympathetic person can learn counselling skills, and they will help you to help others many times in your daily life. If you have ever felt helpless when a friend or relative has come to you in distress, not knowing what to do or say, this book will teach you the basic skills that will help you respond appropriately when someone reaches out to you. Written by a doctor and expert counsellor of many years' experience, Helping Others is intended not only for those entering counselling as a career, but for all those in the medical and social services or in pastoral work who may be faced with unhappy people in need of sympathy and a guiding hand. It describes how to listen, how to tune in to others and draw them out, how to deal with particular problems or situations and how to guide a person towards a solution. All of us need counselling skills at some time in our lives. In an age when many people feel isolated and lonely, Helping Others enables us to assist others who are experiencing emotional distress and reawaken the habit of caring.