How can I be useful to you?

I used to ask my patients, "How can I help you? " But that kind of question makes them Humpty Dumpty, waiting around on the pavement to be put back together again. And it makes me the kings horses and the kings men, ultimately powerless to fix another person. I’ve changed my question. Now I say, "How can I be useful to you?" How can I support you as you take responsibility for yourself?  

Auschwitz survivor Edith Eva Eger in her book The Choice