I appreciated our discussion of traditional and professional responses on Thursday.  I think that the same principles apply to discussions with friends; it is better to let them talk and try to understand where they are coming from and what they need than to immediately give advice or dismiss their concerns, even if you are uncomfortable hearing about their problems.  I also think that question-asking might be one of the best skills for working with families, and with people in general.  Sometimes it is really difficult for me to think of a good question to ask someone to get them to think about another aspect of the problem, but it is really helpful for them when you can ask good questions.