CEDAR FALLS -- Those looking to get advice via e-mail can now rely on something more than an unsolicited horoscope or a meddling aunt.

Former Cedar Falls resident Kim Johnson, who has a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, has created AdviceForMyLife.com. The Web site allows users to send in their problems and receive, for a fee, a personalized e-mail in which she doles out advice on everything from romance to parenting.

"This is just a dream for me, because I can sit down in my PJs and do this from anywhere that has Internet access," she said from her Westin, Fla., home.{M3

Johnson, who went to Northern University High School, had been working for a social service agency and running a private practice for a few years when she decided to trade in her face-to-face office sessions for her home computer. She started the site last fall after realizing that the constant moving caused by her husband's job made it difficult to establish a solid client base.

"I just know that people need this," she said, "I know there are a lot of people out there who need help and they can ask friends for advice, but sometimes friends are just too emotionally connected."

She said she is filling the niche of busy people in a way that is both confidential and convenient.

Because she can no longer rely on the nonverbal cues seen in traditional therapy, she asks for demographic information specific to the writer and the people involved in the situation.

"With my background in family and marriage therapy, I feel like I can get a better sense if I see all the angles and that's one thing I give up, but that's why I'm so insistent that people can write as much as they want."

In situations involving multiple viewpoints, all parties involved can write in one e-mail.

Not everyone is convinced that giving up the benefits of traditional counseling is worth it. Dr. Martin Edwards, a licensed counselor at Cedar Falls Counseling Associates, said it's not something he would be comfortable with, though he feels the trend likely will continue to increase.

"So much of the kind of things that we do are communicated through face to face; facial, auditory, tone, intonation, how something is said. I think that the risk with something like that online is you lose so much of the quality of conversation that you really run the risk of increasing error," Edwards said.

He said online counseling may be considered marginal from an ethics standpoint as well.

"You don't really get the full perceptions. Those are the tools that we use and when you don't have those kind of tools you're not going to do as good of a job," he said.

"There might be some people who prefer to be more anonymous or geographically it's more convenient, but you're weighing that against effectiveness, and it's kind of hard to dispense the medicine (talk therapy) we provide at a distance."

Although Johnson gives advice on a variety of issues, she makes clear that it is just that -- advice.

"This is not for someone who needs a therapist," she said.

She does not maintain her therapist license and refers those with severe problems to therapy elsewhere.

Johnson typically spends around a half hour answering each e-mail. She said she usually writes at least three paragraphs for basic problems and may write a page and a half or more for more complex issues. E-mails cost $30 apiece and $18 for a follow-up e-mail.

Johnson isn't the only one cashing in on the online advice industry. A quick online search reveals plenty of amateurs and professionals ready to offer their 2 cents for your 2 cents. Buck Opinions promises an opinion for $1. If you don't like Buck's opinion though, you're out the money. Other sites boast free advice on resume-writing, careers or legal issues.

The recently created Psyadvice.com allows users to pick their adviser by searching profiles and corresponding with them before committing financially.

David Costello of EditAvenue Inc., the company that created the site, said advice professionals are carefully screened, their credentials checked and their advice-giving savvy tested with fake letters. Most have degrees in psychology or related fields. Some do not. The site allows users to write reviews of their advice professionals, who together answer roughly 30 questions a day.

Costello said EditAvenue hopes to expand the site as the demand for personalized online advice grows.

"It's a pretty fascinating market. It's going to be fun to see how it develops," he said.

Contact Laura Grevas at (319) 291-1483 or laura.grevas@wcfcourier.com.