Do you have a personal problem? Is something about your life troublesome to you? Maybe you need a little help. Someone to just understand you and your needs, to explain what’s going on. Is it normal? Will it change? What can I do to help?

    Ask yourself: Do you have trouble with Sleeping? Relationships? Kids? Partners? Parents? Your job? Dreams or fantasies that seem abnormal? Do your desires get in the way? Does life make you happy or sad? Are you isolated, depressed, manic, troubled, sad, on medication or off medication?

    Can’t afford the expensive regular counseling or therapy visits? Perhaps you are just too uncomfortable about visiting someone’s office?

    Why not try on-line counseling? The pace is slower, more relaxed. The response is thoughtfully considered and not ‘shot from the hip.’

Contents of this Information Brochure:

Introduction

A brief history of on-line counseling

Some things can’t be done by e-mail

Fees and billing

Advantages of on-line counseling

Disadvantages of on-line counseling

Obtain a text copy of this brochure

How to submit your request for an initial consultation

A BRIEF HISTORY OF E-MAIL COUNSELING:

    After about thirty years of working in a clinical and research environment, I have retired to a quiet home in the Catskills. I have begun to counsel people, like yourself, on-line. This seemed like a natural move. I enjoy helping people and offering them the benefit of my many years of study and life experiences. And by using the Internet neither you nor I are tied to regular weekly sessions at my office. You are free to tell me what you want or express yourself anytime, day or night. I am free to get back to you quickly yet in a manner that permits some normal daily activities.

    Everyone at one time or another has problems with personal relationships, parenting, self, analysis, jobs, personalities, sexual relations, etc. Sometimes all we need is just a little guidance to help us through a difficult period or, more commonly, we may just need to talk about it.

    Some problems seem to persist throughout long periods of our lives. We feel that if we can somehow banish this problem our lives would be better. Indeed a life without that problem is far better than a life lived with such difficulty. The resolutions of some problems require a long term commitment to changing your life. Often just explaining the details of such a deep problem requires many exchanges and the building of confidence between you and I. It would be unrealistic to assume that anyone would be open enough to send me an e-mail explaining their deepest darkest feelings. However, after a few exchanges, an ease and comfort of conversation will develop. You will become more expressive and see how open and easy it is to explain yourself. My task, to help you, is to explain those things that you might be overlooking and to offer different perspectives so that some problems may diminish of their own accord. Other problems may require that you approach their solution from a different point of view.

    I will not make decisions for you. But I will give you options and discuss the positives and negatives of each situation to help you make informed decisions in your life.

    You, too, of course, will be required to work to help yourself. You cannot sit back and expect me or anyone else to solve your problems. What speaking with me can do is to give you some fresh insights into your problem(s) and offer solutions that may make your task easier. Also, a candid exchange of ideas and feelings will help reveal to you some aspects about yourself that you perhaps have ignored or buried for a long time. These may then be incorporated into your ability to solve your problems.

SOME THINGS CAN’T BE DONE BY E-MAIL:

    If I can’t help you, I will tell you so. Sometimes questions or problems fall outside everyone’s area of expertise.

    I cannot solve or resolve medical problems on-line. If I suspect that you have a medical problem, I must advise you to see a local physician. Likewise, if you have a legal problem, I will advise you to contact a lawyer.

    There are some problems that cannot be addressed on- line.

    For example: A suicide crisis cannot be handled on- line. If someone is going to hurt themself, they must get immediate physical help! They need someone to be with them to stop their self-destruction. We can deal with the feelings and motivations later on-line.

    Another example: If you are a member of a cult or in an abusive relationship, I can only advise you to leave that setting before you begin to help yourself. However, often while you are working on a problem, you need someone to talk to. I can help with this aspect.

    Further example: If you are a drug or medication or alcohol abuser, again I must rely upon you to help yourself. I can only suggest a course of action and provide a meaningful and understanding explanation of your questions and comments. Part of the recovery process is to express your ideas and feelings while you change your life for the better.

    I cannot condone or sanction criminal activity. The State laws (Actually e-mail falls under the Federal Interstate laws) prohibit the discussion of criminal acts. Therefore we will assume that anything you say or write is just by way of example and not any specific real act. Although we may, for the sake of clarity, speak as if these were real. This gives you the freedom to say whatever you wish without worrying about any legal repercussions.

    Most of this is common sense but sometimes we need to be reminded of it.

FEES AND BILLING:

    This information brochure (this is what you are reading) explaining my services and methods is free. I will describe how you can submit your request for an initial consultation to me later on in this brochure.

    This service is not covered by any medical insurance plan. On-line counseling is a new field and not recognized by the insurance companies.

    I do not work for free. Although if you become (based on the nature of your progress) a long term correspondent, my fees may diminish.

    I am not interested in taking patients away from any on-going therapies. If you are in any form of therapy, please continue. You may discuss going on-line with me at your regular therapy sessions. You may contact me in addition to your regular sessions. But do not stop your regular sessions and then contact me. That would be unfair to you and to me.

    Your initial consultation and evaluation is only five dollars ($5.) and if you don’t think it is helpful, you don’t have to pay the bill. In other words, if I can’t help you, your initial consultation is free.

    I evaluate your request or problem and respond directly, through e-mail, to you. I’ll give you some general idea of what’s going on and what’s involved. I’ll also try to be specific. I’ll also be able to give you some idea of how many exchanges will be required to help you.

    After your initial consultation and evaluation, if you feel I can be of any service to you and perhaps help you, you will be billed only thirty dollars ($30) for the first five exchanges (That’s only $6 for each exchange.) Within the time of those first five e-letters, you should develop a reasonably good idea of whether this is going to help you. If you find this format (e-mail) counseling helpful you may choose to continue.

    You will be billed fifteen dollars ($15) for each exchange after the original five. You may enter an exchange (by sending your e-mail to me) as often as you like. But be aware that I prefer to think about your questions, requests and comments before answering, so I usually respond on a regular weekly basis. My bill for services will be attached to your last exchange for each month. This way you can budget your exchanges for your convenience.

    In an effort to standardize the size of our exchanges, the usual maximum letter size will be assumed to be five pages at 250 words per page. I realize that sometimes what you have to say may run a little bit longer just as what I have to say may also run longer or shorter. You will never be billed for the length of my replies or comments. However, if your letters run longer than five pages, you will be billed an extra dollar for each page over five.

    You may submit your monthly payment through the regular mails; my post office box will appear on each bill. You may choose to have my services put on your regular credit card; just fill in your credit card number and sign the billing authorization form with your first bill and send it to me through the postal service.

    You may cancel your participation at any time by simply telling me so. A brief e-mail message will suffice. You will receive no further billings. You may re-start our exchanges at any time by simply sending me an e-mail inquiry.

ADVANTAGES OF ON-LINE COUNSELING:

    Privacy - You remain anonymous. Our exchanges remain confidential. No one has access to your letters. You may, if you wish, erase them after you’ve read them.

    This form of counseling is available anywhere in the world over the internet. You don’t have to go anywhere. There are no office visits or scheduled appointments.

    Low fee for service - You pay only for what you need, not more. Traditional counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists charge several hundred dollars per hour. Much of that time is silence because someone must listen while someone else speaks.

    You control your own fees. You can direct the most important questions or problems to me immediately. You won’t waste your time on ‘small talk.’

    With e-mail I can attend to many more people and give each a fair amount of time and consideration.

    I can also limit my practice yet remain available to those who really need help.

OBTAIN A TEXT COPY OF THIS BROCHURE:

    Some might prefer to read a printed version of this brochure. Use the FILE/PRINT function on your browser to print this text.

DISADVANTAGES:

    You should be made aware of the few disadvantages to this type of counseling.

    As mentioned above, e-mail counseling won’t cure addictions or abuses. Some things simply cannot be done via e-mail. But some caring advice may comfort you enough and motivate you to gain some modest control over your own situation.

    E-mail takes time to send your message to me and for me to respond. This is not a service for those who require immediate instant responses. As I’ve said, I prefer to carefully consider your letters and problems and usually respond within the week. If for some reason I am unable to respond within one week, I will send you an e-mail explaining the delay.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST
FOR AN INITIAL CONSULTATION:

    You may submit your request for an initial consultation in any form you desire. However, to get the maximum amount of information and help from me, you might want to try the following format. This format has been designed to give me important facts so that I can better understand your requests.

    First, type a short paragraph about yourself. Tell me who you are (You do not need to include your real name. Remember, you can remain completely anonymous throughout our exchanges.) Describe some things about yourself. What do you like? What don’t you like? What do you do for a living? How old are you? Are you male or female? (Obviously, some of these are very personal bits of information. But a 60 year old male dockworker has had quite a different life experience than a 16 year old female student. And accordingly, my advice to each would be quite different.) Basically, include any information that you feel is relevant to you and your problem.

    State your problem! Try to be very clear. What is troubling you? If you only have vague notions of trouble or foreboding, try to explain these and the things that seem to surround them.

    After you’ve stated your problem. Explain some of the things related to this problem. For instance if you have difficulty with people at work. Describe some of those people for me.

    Next, explain what you think is going on with your problem. When did it start? Is it getting better or worse? What do you think is the cause of it? What do you think is the solution to it? What have you tried to solve it or to make it go away?

    Finally, tell me what you want to happen. Use your own words and explain what you would like to see happen to resolve this problem.

    You may address as many problems or questions as you like (The limit is five typed pages (1250 words.)) or you may choose one that is really difficult for you.

Send your initial consultation request to me via email at:
internet “COUNSELOR@spiritcrow.com”
or internet “ANALYST@spiritcrow.com”
with the word “INITIAL” or “FIRST” in the subject line.
or use this FORM for submitting your Initial Consultation Request

    I will read your request, consider your problem, and based upon what you’ve told me, offer some advice. My usual response time is one week. If you find my advice and insight to be helpful, please consider continuing to use my services on-line to help you improve your life.

    My initial response will include a bill for five dollars ($5.) for your initial consultation. If you find my advice helpful, please submit your payment. If you find my that my advice is NOT helpful to you, you may simply write the word “Cancel” on the bill, send it back to me and owe me nothing. Along with this initial response a billing form for continued counseling will be included. This is to cover the cost of your five introductory exchanges ($30.) As soon as I receive your payment, you may start your introductory exchanges.