Problem Pages

There are problem pages springing up everywhere now and they are a very good idea, if they work.

We all need to turn to others at time of distress, even I, Rosemary Price the famous psychic, and it has become "normal" and not just accepted but expected that people turn to a problem page when they are in need of advice, support, sympathy, understanding, care, a listening ear, a sounding board and advice. For this reason there are now various websites offering their advice columns, marriage advice, divorce advice, dating advice and information and guidance on anything to do with romance, love and life. These sites are usually used by women and usually very young women, but of course there are exceptions.

So what do we do when we have a problem? The good thing about this is that there are now a lot of sites where you can access this information instantly on your computer, very often totally free of charge. But there is a downside to this too. You can be swamped with choice and it is hard to work out who is trustworthy. When we turn to someone for comfort and advice we need to be sure that the knowledge and information they give us is worth having, that anything they tell us is accurate and helpful. If we simply want to sound off and moan about things or talk to someone who does not understand or cannot help we can do this with someone at work, or a neighbour or a friend, and at least with them we have the advantage that they already know things about us that might help them to understand how we feel and the situation we are in. The worst thing you can do when you are desperate for advice is to turn to someone who is unreliable and gives the wrong information or is not really concerned about you and simply sees you as a way to make money, a business transaction.

It is not legally necessary to be qualified when you work as an agony aunt or uncle. This means that anyone who has some money to spare and some ambition to make money can set up a website and purport to be an expert. They may be genuine and it is possible they really do care, but you cannot be sure of this. I have worked as a leading, qualified expert for over thirty years and come across a lot of people who claim and genuinely believe themselves to have what it takes to do this work, but that does not mean they were right. Some were simply bored housewives, others were going through an identity crisis, some were at a loose end and bored and thought it would offer them the excitement and feeling of importance they craved. If they can give the help needed this is fine but without that ability it is dangerous. No advice is better than bad advice. Some situations and problems work themselves out eventually through time and things that happen but to take the wrong turning can mean total unhappiness.

At least if your family or friends give you the wrong advice you know they meant well. But when you go to a stranger, a supposed expert,to be given the wrong advice when you are anxious, worried, needing to know where to turn is as bad as giving you the wrong medicine when you go to see a doctor and find out they were a quack. You need the right help and you need it now, while you are suffering. You are already feeling awful so to end up feeling worse is unforgiveable.

For this reason I set up The Association of Agony Aunts and only allow experts who have been thoroughly trained to work for me.To me it is far more important that the person gets the right advice than that the person wanting to give the advice is satisfied. If you want to get advice from unqualified people you can go onto dating , relationship and problem forums and get that for free, you would not need to pay anyone for it nor trust them with a huge and mind boggling problem. I do realise that when you turn to someone for comfort and advice you need to sure that they care AND that what they tell you helps.

The good thing about the various forums online - apart from the fact that they are free to use - is that you might not get the actual advice you need but you may be able to find people who are in tune with you and perhaps going through the same sort of issues and become support and friends. For expert advice, a great problem page, training and jobs for those who are interested and suitable go to http://www.webclairvoyant.com As recommended by the Press, experts, professionals and celebrities.