Credit counceling? Advice?

Mom is driving me crazy with, "I'm throwing in the towel," "I give up," "Just go bankrupt" type phrases.

Ok, so my folks are buried in debt. Has anyone here successfully used a credit counselor to get out of debt? If you didn't use a credit counselor, what route did you take? Name? Did they have a local office? Mom doesn't want to talk over the phone.

Dad is nearly 78, and doing ok, but I don't necessarily see him running off to job land. Ok, so I know also, that mom and also dad don't really have the right mindset to start with. But in practical terms, maybe if they talked to someone who could really help them, then their attitude might get brighter.

Mom and dad have been great at paying on their bills. But, the credit cards and loans eventually caught up with them. They are getting ripped off, pretty much, but we all know that's how credit cards work. You pay $300 and only $6 goes toward the actual bill. I don't understand why this is legal.

I would like for them to work with someone who can help them free up money every month, so they can actually afford to eat and live, without putting food on a credit card, like they are right now. They are over-extended, just not enough money to cover all the bills.

I have already looked over plenty of sites, I'm just looking for someone who got some results, and how they got them.

Troy