The experience of being listened to can be a turning point in people's lives, particularly in the early months of parenthood, write Shona Reed-Purvis and Sally Dakin. This is a time when health visitors are ideally placed to offer emotional support. But training may be necessary to help the practitioner move beyond the traditional directive role engendered by old-style nurse training and expected by many clients, and to encourage the client to take control. Here they describe a training programme developed at the request of Oxford City health visitors to help them use their skills more effectively.