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陪傷心的人聊聊:重要時刻這樣傾聽、那樣對話

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「Hi,你好嗎?可以陪你聊聊嗎?」
人生低潮時,每個人的心情都需要被聽見
懂得傾聽不見得能改變世界,卻能改變那個人的世界

  ★英國生命線「撒瑪利亞會」成立七十年智慧結晶
  ★專業助人工作者、一般陪伴者的實用談話指南
  ★做個有溫度的人,提升自身的傾聽能力、同理心

  當親友遭遇人生危機、心靈脆弱時,
  該怎麼聽、怎麼說,才是最剛好的陪伴?

  你身邊的親友,最近有這些狀況嗎?(或許正需要有人陪他聊聊)
  ・缺乏活力或常常顯得特別累
  ・總是動不動就想哭、情緒很滿
  ・不再想做平常愛做的事情
  ・作息改變,例如:睡或吃得比平常多或少
  ・變得很封閉,都不回訊息或感覺很疏遠
  ・變得暴躁、有攻擊性或防衛心很重
  ・突然做很多冒險的事,甚至有自毀的傾向
  ・經歷重大人生變化、痛失所愛,例如:朋友或家人過世

  ◣聽和傾聽是兩回事
  聽只是一種生理現象,聽進去則是一種心理活動。用心聽對方說了什麼,思考他表達的重點,不打斷,也不熱切給予建議。傾聽能把自信還給人們,給他們力量改寫自己的結局。

  ◣傾聽最大的障礙:只想趕快解決問題
  當我們在乎的人陷入困境,我們自然會很渴望伸出援手。我們禁不住就會有一股「你現在這樣不好,我要改變你的狀況」的衝動。但傷心的人需要的是你的陪伴,不是你的介入。

  ◣避免為別人的人生下指導棋
  把傷心的人想像成坐在一個坑洞中,當下該做的,不是硬把當事人從坑洞中拉上來,反而是下去到坑洞中坐在當事人身旁。當他準備好了,自然會按照自己的步調去找到答案。

  ◣別害怕對話陷入沉默
  讓對方主導談話,不用擔心談話出現停頓或空白,他可能正在思考接下來要說的話。重點在於不打斷、不插話,讓他繼續說下去,直到他想說的都說完了為止。

  ◣「噓」(SHUSH)傾聽法
  S:表現出你的關心(Show you care)
  H:有耐心(Have patience)
  U:用開放式的問題(Use open questions)
  S:複述對方所說的話(Say it back)
  H:拿出勇氣主動問候(Have courage)

330 pages, Paperback

First published May 25, 2021

96 people are currently reading
613 people want to read

About the author

Katie Colombus

4 books3 followers

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5 stars
163 (37%)
4 stars
165 (38%)
3 stars
82 (18%)
2 stars
22 (5%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
52 reviews1 follower
March 21, 2021
There wasn't much new for me in this book, but at the same time I found it to be a good reminder about important things and how sometimes we can help even more than we think. You just need to figure out first what type of help does the person need at this very moment.
It also reminded me of an idea that one of the most valuable things we can give each other is time and patience.
206 reviews37 followers
April 5, 2021
This is the most important book I've read this year.
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634 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2021
Practical and inspiring. Listen. Validate the person's feelings. Only give your opinion when asked. Look after yourself.
Profile Image for Catherine J. Calogero.
41 reviews
March 11, 2021
Useful but a lot of repetition, hence only 3*

Useful but a lot of repetition. An eye opener if you're a "fixer" like me: simply listening without offering solutions is counterintuitive but seems the best way to help.
Profile Image for Emily.
323 reviews37 followers
December 20, 2021
If like me you grew up in a household where every conversation was a shouting argument, then like me you probably didn't learn how to listen well, because no one else was listening to you. :') If this sounds familiar, read this book !
Profile Image for Nina Reads.
228 reviews6 followers
March 9, 2022
3.5 - Rounded to 4

This book really surprised me and may be the best book I have read on the topic of listening. It is true to what it markets itself to be, “A practical guide on how to become a better listener in all areas of your life.” The book provides simple and digestible information even though some of the topics covered are heavy; addiction, suicide, depression, and eating disorders. The book is relatively new, published in January 2021, so the information and models are up to date.

The Layout / Content
The book is written in collaboration with an organization called, The Samaritans, and at the heart of it is their organizational mission and practices. The Samaritans are a charity in the UK and Ireland which offer support to those in crisis. The book is written as a guide by volunteers and experts who share stories, advice, and practical exercises on how to listen. It is split into the following 4 sections:

1. Why Listening Matters
2. How to be a Better Listener
3. Practical Support and Self Care
4. Conclusion (Resources) - The Samaritans Listening Model and additional support networks

The chapters followed the same format; an overview of the advice, a story from someone that had been supported by a Samaritan, an explanation of how this advice helped the individual, and then a reiteration of how and why the advice is valuable. I liked the way the ideas were brought full circle because it helped me commit the main points to memory.

The Writing
The language and writing are clear and approachable, regardless of prior knowledge or mental health training. I could see some people reading this book and thinking a lot of it is common courtesy or knowledge. However, this book is a reminder that even though we know what the polite thing is to do, we often fall short in the moment. The book attempts to train us to listen better by including practical exercises and acronyms to commit to memory. Throughout the book, there are quotes from the Samaritans founders and public figures that emphasize the need for listening. They were a nice addition.

The explanations alongside the information make the book more persuasive. I considered how I can listen better even in casual/ social situations. This is an important idea because there are many bestsellers on developing social skills and tips on how to “make more friends”. These books offer the commonly held advice that you should ask people a lot of questions because people only want to talk about themselves. That advice is outdated and one-dimensional, in reality it comes off more interrogatory and does less to make people feel validated and interested in. This book does the opposite by showing why it is valuable to be quiet and let people fully communicate what they need or want to say. Advice is also given on when to ask follow up questions.

Takeaways
Many of the recommendations on how to listen align with what I have learned through various Mental Health First Aid Training courses I have completed. It was nice to see an overlap of many of those ideas presented in the book. I also highlighted many lines that offered a new perspective on how I can be a more empathetic listener. Below I included some examples:

From the chapter, “Making Assumptions”:

“Forgetting that every person’s story is unique. It can be easy to forget that everyone’s life experiences are different. Just because a story is similar to one we have heard before does not mean that the person’s experience will be the same, even similar.”

From the chapter, “Don’t Give Advice”

“How they are feeling at that given time is completely unique to them. No one else can feel exactly the way they do in that moment, and they should be allowed to express that and be listened to.”

“The better you know somebody, the more in danger you are of making assumptions. You might think, ‘Oh, I understand her, I know how she is feeling.’ But it’s likely that the person then won’t feel listened to or validated, because you haven’t allowed them space to explore what’s going on.”

Why didn’t I give it 5 stars?
Some parts about what the Samaritans' organization does were a little preachy. But they do good work, so I wasn't too bothered. These organization focused sections just weren't applicable to me since I live outside of the area that the Samaritans serve. The testimonials were meaningful because they highlighted the impacts that good listening had on someone in crisis. Though I see the value of adding these testimonials, they unfortunately read more like an infomercial. Since the book is written by this organization, it is in their best interest to showcase their success stories.

As many other reviewers have mentioned, it is repetitive. I will argue that in a how-to guide or a nonfiction that aims to teach something, repetition is not necessarily a bad thing. It does act as an aid for remembering the advice, especially when the information being presented was not redundant.

Final Thoughts
The book concludes with a section on compassion fatigue, helpful for those in a supporting role. This included a Self-Care action plan that helps you make tangible plans for ensuring well-being and health during times when you are giving a lot of emotional energy to others. There are also more resources at the end of the book, including the listening model used by the Samaritans organization. Overall, it was a quick and informative read that I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn how to better support those struggling with mental health issues or if you just want to improve your listening skills in general.

“Most of all, listening requires you to forget your own ego, to set aside your own preoccupations and anxieties, and to give your full concentration to whoever’s speaking to you. The rewards are that a good listener can change someone’s life - even save someone’s life.”

Michael Palin, Preface
214 reviews1 follower
June 1, 2023
This is a book about how to listen to people who are struggling with their mental or emotional health. The information is good - don't give advice, listen without judgement,
How to model active listening. Self care while supporting others. The information is presented over and over with case study type examples. While the information is valuable it is base level, and the repetitive presentation makes it feel like a slog to get through.
Profile Image for Claire.
136 reviews1 follower
December 3, 2024
ça passe mais bon c'est très basique comme conseils (écouter et ne pas juste entendre, ne pas interrompre, laisser les gens parler au lieu de juste leur donner des conseils) et c'est énormément de propagande pour leur asso
Profile Image for Paulina.
9 reviews
March 13, 2024
I have really enjoyed reading this book, offers a lot of practical tips on how to improve active listening skills. It’s very inspiring and motivating to open up for others and their reality
Profile Image for Sara.
30 reviews
March 14, 2021
Mental Health has been a big topic over the last year and it's been interesting and helpful in reading books to help improve knowledge on the subject. This book shows you how to go back to basics and really listen to when someone talks to you and not be on your phone, keep interrupting them or giving your advice. I definitely recommend you give it a read, it could help a friend or a family member at some point.
Profile Image for Dafni.
165 reviews13 followers
March 27, 2021
Samaritans is a wonderful UK leading charity for suicide prevention. Volunteers offer tremendous support to people who are struggling with suicidal ideation and behaviour, but also depression, anxiety, loneliness and other mental health diffculties. I may be biased, because I've been trained by Samaritans and I work for Samaritans policy & influencing, but the listening model described here is a very valuable tool. This book can empower people to initiate difficult discussions when someone around them is in distress, and equip them with the skills to listen actively, ask open questions, adopt a non-judgemental style/tone, shy away from solution-focused approach and support their friends, family members and even strangers. Through lived experience of callers (people who've received help by Samaritans) and volunteers (those who actively listen and provide support to callers), you'll find out lots of examples and phrases someone to use and dispel myths around suicide and self-harm.

As reminded in the book 'Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.' - this is something we need to systemically change and challenge, while always try to find ways to improve our communication with other human beings. Reading this book will remind you to be there for others, and not focus on your own stories or oneself.

I only rated it 3/5 because my existing training means that the book didn't offer much new information to me personally, although I am a firm believer that it will do for others who haven't been trained.

Profile Image for Luca Nicoletti.
250 reviews2 followers
July 19, 2023
Summary

This book became is currently the best read of this year, and became one of the must-read books list I have: and it made it to the podium as well, second position. I wrote a blog post about how this book changed my life [here](https://medium.com/@luca.nicoletti/i-...). It has enlightened me on a million things we (yes, we - all) do wrong while trying to listen to people. We don’t really listen at all, we do the opposite: we get ready to reply and think what work for us, will work for others as well, so we give suggestions, stories about how we handled or would handle that situation, etc... But we never listen for real - even though we should.

My evaluation
What did I like the most?
The fact that with real-life stories, the book is able to make you recognise what you’re doing wrong, and what would be better by showing both sides of the conversation: the one from who wants to be listened, to and the one from who is listening (or trying to). All the suggestions coming from different Samaritans are a great resource and can help you improve your social connection a lot, just by learning how to properly listen to someone.

What didn’t I like?

Nothing, this book is a silver bullet: you won’t regret reading it. It’s also not too long and won’t keep you occupied for much.
Profile Image for Ross.
Author 1 book
May 26, 2025
MASSIVE picture of Prince Charles, even claimed as a co-author WHAT!!!! it actually fills the page!!!

short but excellent book, to the point, very valuable

EDIT: SUMMARY I WROTE AFTER THINKING ABOUT THE CONTENTS:
"Listen without projection, without solution, repeate phrases summarise, never judge anything even good things, just sit there, endure the silences, and let people talk openly, and if they find a lull, ask them more open questions, never at any point contradict a bad opinion or a good one, believe in the karmic principle that eventually they will find the solution necessary and the right path, and accept that for some the right path is suicide"
the karmic principle they allude to is likely not one they would endorce if thy fully understood it at logical conclusion, but I think I have come to believe it is wise and deeply insightful no matter how unfortunate
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kat.
101 reviews3 followers
August 16, 2024
I was really excited to read this book but, in the end, it was a bit disappointing. It has some very good pieces of advice and, of course, it can help you reflect on your behaviour when you speak with someone who needs someone who listens to them. However, it is quite repetitive, to the point that it becomes boring. The “examples” sometimes feel unrealistic and at some point it feels like a marketing campaign to either call Samaritans or become a volunteer. I don’t doubt that they do a great job there but I was expecting a bit more from this book instead a repetitive narrative on what Samaritans does.
I did finish the book but I did struggle to do it, and it’s not even that long. I’m not sure I would recommend it.
Profile Image for Simon.
152 reviews
September 17, 2024
Useful book if you do volunteering such as befriending etc.

I’m volunteering for three things - monthly group for people have been affected by suicide, a monthly meet up with a person with learning disabilities and a weekly befriender visit where I see a person who’s very depressed and anxious - and this book taught me a lot of tips on how to deal with all these.

It’s got some key person based counselling theories explained in it, but I think every human should read it, it just teaches people to listen better and not say the wrongs things when doing so, which I have a lot of personal experience of people doing.
Profile Image for ✵ Kas .
221 reviews29 followers
September 1, 2021
Obviously a very important skill to learn and the tools mentioned are great and I will certainly be more aware of these in a conversation but honestly this book could have been a 5 page PDF but all the repetition made it a 200 page book.
This book is probably better for people who are very new or apprehensive about listening to people or don't have much knowledge of mental health. So im not bashing the book for its intention because ofc the Samaritans are brilliant, but some parts were just too basic/obvious for me personally.
373 reviews
December 26, 2021
Good sensible and practical book. I’m not a good listener. I have to be in the right frame of mind in order to listen but I find Increasingly people want to talk when I’m at my lowest so I thought I’d give this book a read and now I find I’ve been doing it wrong my whole life anyway. So I have some practical tips and I think I will make this my 2022 goal (but will start now) and try and be more mindful, not find solutions and try and engage my listening ears instead of my hearing ears or my oh my god I wish you’d shut up and leave me in peace inner voice.
Profile Image for Alžběta.
643 reviews1 follower
September 1, 2021
What an excellent and essential book. I never give unsolicited advice. But when a family member or friend approaches me with a problem, my first instinct often is to spring to action, immediately suggesting potential solutions. This book helped me understand why the most helpful thing actually is simply being there for the person and listening to them, making them feel heard.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. If you want to help a loved one dealing with any issues or simply be a better listener, this is the book to read. Extremely clear, practical, and full of priceless information.
Profile Image for Tobias.
22 reviews
October 2, 2023
How to Listen is an easy-to-follow book on how to provide active listening for people in distress or need. If you have not practiced active listening before or engaged with people suffering from mental illness, disorders or social stigma, this can be a good start.

I have prior training in active listening as part of volunteering with vulnerable youth, but I still found this to be useful as a refresher for what I learned so many years ago.
Profile Image for Sandy Pace.
52 reviews2 followers
August 22, 2021
As a nearly trained peer support specialist, I can confidently say this book is phenomenal in every single way. And if you are going into the mental health field or want to know how to support a person you know more effectively, this book is an incredible tool. I honestly wish I could rate it higher than five stars because that’s how good it is.
Profile Image for K Jack.
27 reviews
July 23, 2025
I liked that they had lots of anecdotes, quotes and they did a summary after each segment. But the content felt very repetitive. You could learn just as much by only reading the summaries if you don’t want to spend time reading every anecdote or chapter.
I would’ve rather borrowed this book from the library instead of buying it.
Profile Image for Shantalie.
186 reviews1 follower
May 9, 2021
This provides some useful insights into an important skill that most of us could do with working on. It's nothing monumental but interesting enough. Its major flaw was that it does get a little repetitive in parts.
Profile Image for Sanyam Gupta.
23 reviews1 follower
April 11, 2022
Everyone should read this book and promote the habit of listening. This book explains the importance of listening and while reading through it, you will realise that it’s so important to listen and be there for someone, anyone, also how important and easy it is. Must read!
33 reviews
February 9, 2021
The book does have good points to think about. But I feel this book can be much shorter, for many chapters it's repeating the same things again and again.
Profile Image for Nik.
344 reviews3 followers
December 21, 2021
I believe everyone should be given a copy of this book to read- simple, gentle, practical advice on how we can all support each other just through the simple act of listening.
Profile Image for Roland M.
176 reviews
April 15, 2023
It is a nice book. It is helpful for people helping and in need for help.
Profile Image for Andrea.
35 reviews
July 26, 2023
Highly recommend. It teaches an important life skill.
12 reviews
August 19, 2023
Learning is so much more than listening, and Colombus demonstrates how it's one of our most important skills to help our fellow man (and equally ourselves) and so so simple to read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews

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