It's a fine line. We definitely need to stay away from diagnosing each other (or asking for a dx here). But some aspects of therapy or psychoanalyzing, etc. are basically good communication skills. The first couple of classes I took about counseling were nothing more than that - how to listen well and communicate that you understand what the person is saying. That is exactly what we should be doing here.

There is a continuum of counseling skills from less intrusive (like listening) to more intrusive (for example, offering interpretations or giving directives). We should probably keep what we do here closer to the level of listening. That said, if I know something that I think will help somebody, I often share what I know, or at least offer it. When we do offer information or advice or strategies, it's best to keep it light, with no pressure, so the person knows that we understand it's their choice whether to accept it or reject it or anyplace in between.

Sometimes it's hard not to want to jump in and fix things, especially when the solution seems so obvious. But most people don't want someone to fix it or to tell them they need to change. They have a hard enough time accepting stuff like that from a therapist. Another thing that isn't always supportive is telling too much of our own story in response to someone asking for help or to be heard. What works for me (hmm, nothing actually seems to work for me at this point, but if something did) might not work for you.

But there are no hard and fast rules to clarify all of this, because it varies so much. And there is always an exception to everything.