Whether you’re considering a breakup, feel hung up on an ex, or suspect that your guy is cheating, your first impulse is probably to reach out to your friends. The thing is, they might not want hear about it. In fact, more than half of Americans avoid friends who talk too much about their love lives, according to a new survey of 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults conducted by Wakefield Research.

Enter: a new relationship care package from Pearl.com, which commissioned the survey. The idea is that, rather than pissing off your friends by talking to them too much about your love life, you can pay $39 for three online chat sessions with a relationship counselor or psychotherapist (to ensure that its experts are up to snuff, Pearl.com conducts background checks, requires expert entrance exams, and monitors the quality of their experts’ responses).

In each session, you submit a question you’d normally ask a friend or therapist in person, and the expert responds within 24 hours. Then, you and the expert chat it out until you’re satisfied with the answer.

Granted, three sessions of any type of therapy isn't likely to solve any serious issues in your relationship. But if you just want an outside opinion on the cryptic text you got from your ex last night, Pearl.com’s relationship care package functions as a quick stand-in for a friend whose goodwill you may have already used up.

And it’s not your only option for online advice, either. Sites such as BreakThrough.com can connect you with a therapist for a full session via video chat. So tell us: What do you think about virtual therapists designed to help you through relationship questions?

Would you use an online relationship therapist?

• Absolutely! This sounds awesome.
• No way. I’d much rather confide in a friend or expert face-to-face.

Created on Sep 25, 2013

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poll by twiigs.com