Helping people

There are many different ways to help other people. Perhaps the most common of these involves giving others practical help. In our society, there are many individuals who spontaneously help others in this way. Additionally, there are others who belong to organisations which have been set up to provide help to specific groups, such as the elderly, the disabled, and those with serious physical or mental health problems. Most importantly, there are many occupations , such as nursing, occupational therapy and social work, which involve professionals who are trained to provide or organise practical help for others. While helping other people in a practical way, many volunteers and professional helpers also make use of some counselling skills. These skills can be very useful in enabling people to feel better as described in this book and our book, Counselling Skills in Everyday Life. However, it needs to be recognized that just being able to make use of some counselling skills does not qualify a person as a counsellor.