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Explain the nature of helping work and how it differs form other support

Listening to a friend as opposed to a helpee or vice versa is very different. I have some very close friends to whom I can confide in and can confide in me. A friend is someone who seeks the welfare of another, who he/she respects, likes or admires, and whose companionship and personality are pleasurable. I would treat a friend in a completely different way than I would treat a helpee. For example, my friend and I were talking recently and she explained that she felt her new relationship wasn’t going anywhere. She had been in her new partnership for four years and had a small daughter. I had seen her go through a break up before and inside I was thinking that I was unsure she could go through it again! As she is my friend I did not think to act like a helper I just reacted in the normal way and offered my thoughts and feelings regarding her dilemma.

A Helper is a person who willingly assists another. Someone who comes alongside another for a brief period of time, to help a person through a difficult time. If I was faced with the same situation as above, as a Helper, I would listen to the helpee, remaining silent and listening fully all the while paying attention to both the verbal and non-verbal communication. I would use mirroring or reflection and open questions to try and help them communicate more. For example I could say “It sounds as though you’re feeling sad about a