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Counseling: A Guide to Helping Others
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238 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 5, 2020
To be honest, this is what it purports to be: a reference. Don't read it straight through, it's quite dry, look up and read sections as needed.
October 5, 2025
BOOK REVIEW — Counseling, A Guide to Helping Others, edited by Lanier Britsch (1992)
When I was first called to serve as a bishop, my wife gave me this book, I’m a lawyer and had no experience counseling people with the challenges the seek counsel from their bishop. This thoughtful and practical gift proved valuable during those early, often overwhelming months. The book is designed specifically for lay leaders and members who find themselves in helping roles but who may not have formal training in counseling or mental health. Its tone is reassuring and humble, offering a framework for compassionate listening, careful boundaries, and wise discernment.
The book’s strength lies in its clear and accessible guidance on the basics of helping others: how to listen without rushing to fix problems, how to ask questions that invite trust, and how to maintain confidentiality while respecting both personal safety and Church standards. It provides simple but profound reminders—that genuine empathy often matters more than polished answers, that prayer and discernment can bring calm to difficult interviews, and that sometimes the most Christlike response is simply to sit with someone in their pain. These principles gave me confidence to be present and supportive, even when I felt unprepared.
Importantly, Britsch and the contributing authors are refreshingly realistic about the limits of ecclesiastical counseling. They repeatedly emphasize that a bishop’s role is spiritual, not clinical, and that serious mental health struggles—such as deep depression, trauma, abuse, or suicidal thoughts—should prompt immediate referral to qualified professionals. This candor is not a sign of weakness but of wisdom and stewardship; the book underscores that protecting those we serve includes recognizing when we are beyond our training.
As a practical manual, it is straightforward and readable, well suited to the busy, non-specialist leader. It doesn’t aim to turn bishops or Relief Society presidents into therapists but equips them to listen with care, offer spiritual counsel when appropriate, and connect struggling individuals with the right resources. For anyone beginning service in a pastoral role, it provides both comfort and guardrails.
Quotes:
“The first and often most healing gift a helper can give is to listen—truly listen—without rushing to judgment or quick solutions. People are rarely looking for instant answers; they are hoping to feel understood and less alone.”
“Recognizing the limits of one’s own ability is not a failure but a sacred trust. When pain moves beyond the bounds of spiritual guidance, a wise leader acts as a bridge to professional help, ensuring that suffering souls are not left to struggle alone.”
When I was first called to serve as a bishop, my wife gave me this book, I’m a lawyer and had no experience counseling people with the challenges the seek counsel from their bishop. This thoughtful and practical gift proved valuable during those early, often overwhelming months. The book is designed specifically for lay leaders and members who find themselves in helping roles but who may not have formal training in counseling or mental health. Its tone is reassuring and humble, offering a framework for compassionate listening, careful boundaries, and wise discernment.
The book’s strength lies in its clear and accessible guidance on the basics of helping others: how to listen without rushing to fix problems, how to ask questions that invite trust, and how to maintain confidentiality while respecting both personal safety and Church standards. It provides simple but profound reminders—that genuine empathy often matters more than polished answers, that prayer and discernment can bring calm to difficult interviews, and that sometimes the most Christlike response is simply to sit with someone in their pain. These principles gave me confidence to be present and supportive, even when I felt unprepared.
Importantly, Britsch and the contributing authors are refreshingly realistic about the limits of ecclesiastical counseling. They repeatedly emphasize that a bishop’s role is spiritual, not clinical, and that serious mental health struggles—such as deep depression, trauma, abuse, or suicidal thoughts—should prompt immediate referral to qualified professionals. This candor is not a sign of weakness but of wisdom and stewardship; the book underscores that protecting those we serve includes recognizing when we are beyond our training.
As a practical manual, it is straightforward and readable, well suited to the busy, non-specialist leader. It doesn’t aim to turn bishops or Relief Society presidents into therapists but equips them to listen with care, offer spiritual counsel when appropriate, and connect struggling individuals with the right resources. For anyone beginning service in a pastoral role, it provides both comfort and guardrails.
Quotes:
“The first and often most healing gift a helper can give is to listen—truly listen—without rushing to judgment or quick solutions. People are rarely looking for instant answers; they are hoping to feel understood and less alone.”
“Recognizing the limits of one’s own ability is not a failure but a sacred trust. When pain moves beyond the bounds of spiritual guidance, a wise leader acts as a bridge to professional help, ensuring that suffering souls are not left to struggle alone.”
February 21, 2008
This book gives insights on different topics of how to help someone when they come to you and share a problem they need help with. It's very useful as a personal resource as well.
Aimed at those who do not have degrees in the area of counseling but are in a position where they meet with people and give counsel regularly.
Aimed at those who do not have degrees in the area of counseling but are in a position where they meet with people and give counsel regularly.
October 20, 2010
Pretty good 30,000 ft. view of the underpinnings to common problems that face LDS bishops and the like. I think the most important theme of the book was emphasizing how it's not the counselors job to fix all the person's problems, but rather to help the person realize that they have the power to fix them themselves.
January 26, 2009
very, very dry and not that informative for more than a "lay person". Was trying to make it through the end, I think I did.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews