An apparatus for assisting a person to move from a seated position on a seat or the like to an upright or standing position and vice versa, said apparatus comprising: a base; a footplate supported by said base; an actuator arrangement supported by said base; a torso support (8,39) configured for supporting the torso and possibly also the underarms of the person to be a supported with the chest of the person facing the torso support (8,39); said torso support having a main engagement surface for engaging the chest of the person to be assisted, said torso support (8,39) being operatively connected to said actuator arrangement; said actuator arrangement being configured to be able to move said torso support (8,39) up and down over a range of vertical positions and said actuator being configured to be able to move said torso support (8,39) back and forth over a range of horizontal positions in a direction substantially perpendicular to said main engagement surface; wherein said actuator arrangement is configured to move said torso support (8,39) in said vertical range of positions independently of the horizontal position of the torso support; and wherein said actuator arrangement is configured to move said torso support (8,39) in said horizontal range of positions independently of the vertical position of the torso support; a processor connected to said actuator arrangement and configured to control the operation of said actuator arrangement; one or more sensors connected to said processor and said one or more sensors being configured for sensing the load on said torso support (8,39) and/or on said footplate, characterized in that said processor is configured to monitoring the load on the torso support and/or on the footplate and the processor is configured to using the load information to determining the self-effort in the movement of the person to be assisted. a base; a footplate supported by said base; an actuator arrangement supported by said base; a torso support (8,39) configured for supporting the torso and possibly also the underarms of the person to be a supported with the chest of the person facing the torso support (8,39); said torso support having a main engagement surface for engaging the chest of the person to be assisted, said torso support (8,39) being operatively connected to said actuator arrangement; said actuator arrangement being configured to be able to move said torso support (8,39) up and down over a range of vertical positions and said actuator being configured to be able to move said torso support (8,39) back and forth over a range of horizontal positions in a direction substantially perpendicular to said main engagement surface; wherein said actuator arrangement is configured to move said torso support (8,39) in said vertical range of positions independently of the horizontal position of the torso support; and wherein said actuator arrangement is configured to move said torso support (8,39) in said horizontal range of positions independently of the vertical position of the torso support; a processor connected to said actuator arrangement and configured to control the operation of said actuator arrangement; one or more sensors connected to said processor and said one or more sensors being configured for sensing the load on said torso support (8,39) and/or on said footplate, characterized in that