AbstractThis paper reports the results of a community survey on the use of professional help, reading materials, and group programs for three common problems in living: coping with stress and anxiety, dealing with problems in child‐rearing, and coping with problems with alcohol or drugs. Respondents were 581 residents of a city in the Canadian midwest. Reading material was the most commonly used source of help for child‐rearing and stress and anxiety problems, followed by professional help and group programs. The three sources of help were used with approximately equal frequency for alcohol and drug problems. The results suggest that the self‐help reading materials and group programs have a high degree of public acceptance and that the optimal utilization of these services should be studied in more