New mobile internet site My Counselor, from the company of the same name, creates a platform for users to send an anonymous mail about a problem or concern to the qualified counselor of their choosing.
Choosing from a variety of categories (from love to work to money), advice seekers can send a text message of up to 1000 characters to the counselor of their choosing. Each category lists sample questions and responses from each of the site’s counselors so users can choose from among them.
The samples made public on the site reflect the type of questions and answers typically found on the pages of women’s magazines, although in this case a quick answer is guaranteed.
The price for the service depends on the response: when applying for advice, users first choose their desired length of the reply. A 150 character answer costs only 210 points, 500 characters cost 700 points, an 1000 character answer costs 1,400 points, and so on. ¥500 ($4.60) buys 335 points. Premium services include longer responses and can lead to the opportunity to meet with a counselor in person.
While the ability to use your mobile phone for counseling is certainly convenient, the service has the potential to fill a more significant need: a lingering stigma against mental illness in Japan makes many reluctant to seek professional help for real problems. This is just one more example of how mobile phones are being increasingly groomed as tools for health and well-being.
