Is talking to friends, counselors, and parents ways to cope with stress and change?

It depends on what the expectations of the conversation are as well as what roles these people fulfill in your life. For example, you might have a friend from soccer that you might not be able to confide in about personal issues. Generally, its confiding in individuals who fit all of these roles that would make up a coping mechanism for stress and change - If you did not have any friends and only conselors and parents, you might have an inadequate system for dealing with life's problems.

In addition to having such a system in place, its important that these roles provide constructive input. What good is a counselor or friend if, after explaining your problem, they do not provide their opinion? If they do provide their opinion, what good is it if its of little to no value? In short, yes, talking with friends/counselors/parents is a good way to deal with stress and change but ONLY if these individuals are fulfilling the roles in a constructive manner.