"How can I describe my feelings about a life together - a partnership for all those years - set at my husband's retirement, with plans for doing the sorts of things we had always enjoyed - now completely destroyed." Much is written about the experience of people who are ill, but relatively little is said about the emotional and material effects of illness on those who care for the patient. The needs of carers are sometimes unclear and many professional helpers are uncertain about their role in relation to carers and how to respond to carersi acute; needs. Counselling and Helping Carers has been written to enable health care and social service workers to be more effective in addressing the needs of carers. Illustrated with case studies throughout, this book examines the experience of carers, considers the special characteristics of carers as a population, and considers how help may best be provided by those who are involved in a professional helping role. It is designed to enhance helpers' basic counseling and helping skills, and to help them recognize and respond to the carer's difficult task of negotiating the complex path from crisis to coping. It will be an invaluable guide for all helpers who encounter carers as part of their day to day work, whether volunteers or professionals.