An online marriage counselor can help provide real world answers in a virtual world, but do you really want virtual therapy?

Is an online marriage counselor right for you? At a time when the Internet seems to provide answers for everything else, why not help with marital problems?

Dig a little, and you can find counselors on the Internet that will provide some free advice if you select a few check boxes and provide your email address. Be willing to pay a small fee, and you can find a therapist who will email you a thorough analysis of your marital problems based on the answers you provide on a form.

Many of these sites do not offer detailed biographies of their therapists. Neither do they provide telephone numbers through which you can reach your therapist. The intrinsic value of such sites is questionable.

These are very different from therapists who have an Internet presence. A great many legitimate therapists host online chats, write columns for e-zines, and, of course, maintain their own web site.

The difference is that therapists who are online still maintain an office, where you can visit them in person. You can use the Internet to research these people, make initial contacts, and "interview" prospective therapists. After that, it would probably be better to have the initial sessions in person. Email and chatting can be used to supplement the in person sessions, but the therapist shouldn t rely on them.

A little homework, and you can determine if your online counselor is right for you.