Two hundred seventy women in New Brunswick (Canada) who had used such services were asked what type of abuse they had suffered (emotional, physical, or sexual), what type of service they had consulted, whether they found it helpful, and what types of responses they found helpful or not helpful. Results indicate a need for education of service providers. For almost all types of service, women were most likely to seek help regarding emotional abuse, and least likely regarding sexual abuse. The professions varied considerably in their perceived helplessness. Only crisis counselors, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and physicians were considered helpful most of the time. Police officers, financial counselors, and employment counselors were the most frequently mentioned as not helpful. Among the helpful types of responses, "listening respectfully," and "believing my story" were the most frequently mentioned regarding all three types of abuse. Topping the lists were, for emotional abuse, "gave me advice I did not want to follow"; for physical abuse, "criticized me for staying"; and for sexual abuse, "questioned my story." 5 tables, 21 references