anyone know?

[the original ducky]

hello does anyone know how you become an agony aunt?

[compo]

could start a page on here

[the original ducky]

yeah i supose i could but how do i go about it
plus i would like i job that pays

[Emms]

hello does anyone know how you become an agony aunt?

Do you have a particular area of expertise in which you would like to specialize, or any counselling qualifications, or would you just like to draw on your general life experience?.

[rockchick]

One of the more famous agony aunts across the pond made up a bunch of letters with questions she thought would be typical, then made up her answers, then sent them to the paper, who liked what they saw and hired her. She eventually became syndicated and her column appeared in papers across the country.

Not saying it'll work for everybody (and in Britain you'd probably need a psychology degree or social work or some kind of qualification) but it may be worth a try.

[danc1ngwitch]

i think u should never unload ur crap on others unless they ask u 2. so in my ways the more agony aunts the better. not everyone has these beleifs.. good luck an i think u are wise ta do this x

[the original ducky]

i would like to do this but i have no idea which way to go about it. who do you contact to see if you need a degree or what? thanks for all the suport its nice to see. anyone have any ideas on which way i should go about this.

thanks all the best every one for 2007 hope this years a good ne for every one. hannahxxx

[airdlass]

What about trying some of the voluntary organisations - they are always on the look out for people to help - might give you an idea about what it's like and they might also give you some help as to how to go about getting qualifications etc.

[Emms]

I am what you would call 'a modern day agony aunt' as, besides having a residential home for people with mental health difficulties, I am also a Counsellor and Therapist.

I recently decided that I would take on part-time work with an agency (not so much for the money but for a bit of 'variation' in my working life), and am now an online counsellor (which has actually turned out to be quite financially rewarding), & this has the added benefit of being able to work from home, at times that suit me. My clients have a wide range of problems e.g. relationship issues, low self-esteem, financial hardship, sexual dysfunction, and mental health problems, which makes the work interesting. Most of us do have formal qualifications (I have Diploma in Counselling, Cosca Certificate in Counselling, and am CCC Registered), but there are exceptions.

The 'qualified Counsellors' respond to clients who are looking for 'professional counselling' and who are, therefore, charged more money for the service. However, the agency does also allow people who have good life experience, as opposed to formal qualifications, to work for them. These 'non-qualified' Counsellors can not register as a Professional Counsellor but they can provide an 'agony aunt' type service in an area which they feel competent. Obviously, this means that they earn a bit less money, but it might be a good starting point and a way of building up experience. You probabley find that the client's problems are much the same as we get but, perhaps, they can not afford the fee's of a professional counsellor. You need to have good life experience, a non-judgemental attitude, be patient, insightful, fairly articulate and a reasonable speller (I have problems with that one!), fast typist, and UNSHOCKABLE (you do get people with problems that you might not have come across before - trust me!).
Earnings vary, if you are on live chat you get paid a set fee per minute (usually between 50p - £2.00 per minute), and if you counsel by email then you get a set fee per email (usually £5.00 - £20.00 per email). You have to give a percentage of your earnings to the agency because they provide you with the clients and the virtual office for live chat.

If this sounds like something you might be interested in Original Ducky then please p.m me and I'll hook you up with the agency so you can see if it would be right for you or not.

[Errogie]

Why not get some real hard experience with the Samaritans to see how you handle that end of the spectrum?