Peer helping is simply people helping other people. When people experience frustrations, worries, concerns, and other life events, they typically turn to their friends, not professionals, for help, advice, practical assistance, and support. Our job is to strengthen what friends have to offer, thereby increasing a person’s ability to find a safe and satisfying solution. Friends can also assist in determining the need for referral to professionals and can often provide the empathy, understanding, and practical support needed to resolve a number of dilemmas. Continue reading this post…

Everyone periodically experiences fear and anxiety. Fear is an emotional, physical, and behavioral response to an immediately recognizable external threat (eg, an intruder, a runaway car). Anxiety is a distressing, unpleasant emotional state of nervousness and uneasiness; its causes are less clear. Anxiety is less tied to the exact timing of a threat; it can be anticipatory before a threat, persist after a threat has passed, or occur without an identifiable threat. Anxiety is often accompanied by physical changes and behaviors similar to those caused by fear. Continue reading this post…

“How can I know if I need counseling?” If you have asked yourself this question, there’s a good chance that counseling can help you.

This article cannot tell you if you need counseling, but it will help you think through some important questions. Don’t be ashamed to ask for advice from counselors; they talk every day to people who want to make their lives better.
When should I get counseling? Continue reading this post…

In early 1965, Martin E. P. Seligman and his collegues, while studying the relationship between fear and learning, accidentally discovered an unexpected phenomenon while doing experiments on dogs using Pavlovian (classical conditioning). As you may observe in yourselves or a dog, when you are presented with food, you have a tendency to salivate. Pavlov discovered that if a ringing bell or tone is repeatedly paired with this presentation of food, the dog salivates. Continue reading this post…

Definitions of helping on the Web:

give help or assistance; be of service; “Everyone helped out during the earthquake”; “Can you help me carry this table?”; “She never helps around the house”helpingpeople
help – improve the condition of; “These pills will help the patient”
help – be of use; “This will help to prevent accidents”
help oneself: abstain from doing; always used with a negative; “I can’t help myself–I have to smoke”; “She could not help watching the sad spectacle”
serve: help to some food; help with food or drink; “I served him three times, and after that he helped himself” Continue reading this post…