Dear Karen, Your clarification is right on! As LCs, we function as "hired help" and of course can and should develop warm, caring styles while we delve into the breastfeeding problem. We aren't functioning as mother-support-leaders, even if we use some of the same listening skills in theraputic relationships. Our clients come to us because we're "experts,'" not because we are mothers who breastfed their kid(s). What I MEANT was that some problems are solveable through listening/counseling skills, where we help the mother work through her difficulty - we function closer to the doula role. Other problems require more clinical/technical knowledge and expertise. A poor suck isn't solved by listening to the mother; coaching her through through a difficult relative's visit isn't a clinical issue. The scopes of practice of mother-support-group leaders and peer counselors overlap with that of the LC and other health care providers. That's a strength, not a weakness. Skills acquired in other roles add to the depth and skill of the LC. In the changing paradigm of health care, overlapping scopes are more common than exclusive domains - and the LC profession is an excellent example of this. Linda Smith, overlapper-par-excellence