How to Make Money as Online Therapist

If you have a degree in psychology.  Or, you have been working as a counselor for a number of years.  Then an online counseling or therapist job might be the one for you.

E-counseling is becoming a by word now these days because of the ease it provides to clients.  All the client has to do is sign in online, email, Skype or even text the therapist to get some counseling.

I think it also offers the client some degree of anonymity since they do not really see their therapist in person.  Living in another part of the US probably makes it easier for the client to talk about his or her woes.

The client has a choice of wide range of therapists.  Since his or her options are no longer limited to local boundaries, this means there's a huge chance that he or she can find a therapist that truly suits the personal needs.

This also eliminates, the stigma of seeing a therapist, on the part of the customer.  Often of people know that a person is seeing is therapist they judge him or her as a troubled person or mentally ill.  Seeing an online therapist minimizes this stigma.

On the part of the therapist, this is also beneficial since she or he can reach clients beyond local town or city.  A broad range of clients allow him or her to practice his profession more.

It also helps the counselor to earn more.  On top of that, he or she can work anywhere and anytime.  As long as there is an internet connection and a laptop, the therapist can work with the client. This is a win-win situation for both the therapists and the clients.

For those aspiring to be e-counselor, please check the website's requirements.  Some may require higher education like Master's degree.  Others may only need experience. Still others, require a license to practice therapy.  The requirements differ for each and every online site.

E-counselors services vary.  They could provide marriage therapy, anxiety, anger, depression, substance abuse counseling and others.

Here are some of the e-counseling websites hiring online therapists or counselors.  To see their requirements, Please click on the individual link below:

Talkspace 

Therapion

Breakthrough

PrestoExperts

ProvenTherapy

BetterHelp

Theravive

eCounselingNetwork

How To Make Money Doing Online Couponing

  

Online couponing is when you collect coupons so you can use them to buy supplies or groceries.  It can be a lucrative business idea. If you enjoy clipping online coupons, this could be a great money-making venture for you. You need to invest money on this business though.

First Step.  Clip Coupons

First, you need to clip coupons. Find coupons online and offline.  Newspapers, mailed company coupons, newletters, magazines and others are good sources of coupons.  If you go to your favorite stores, you will surely find printed coupons in there.

 There are also a lot of coupons you can print online.  Some sites feature a compilation of coupons direct from the company websites. If you are looking for a particular product, you might as well go directly to the company site.  This way, you will be able to find and print a number of coupons from them.

Second Step.  Buy in Bulk Using Coupons

Second, use these print coupons to buy bulk items from the store. It is not unusual for coupon clippers to end up with 20 dishwashing pastes, for instance. Or, a whole box of noodles. Bulk purchase often enables the seller to sell at a discount.  The buyer also enjoys bigger markdowns in prices if a product is purchased in bulk.

 Third Step. Sell

Once you got your items, the Third step is to sell them online through Facebook, Ebay and other selling sites. Or, you can call your friends and sell them directly the items you bought at rock bottom prices for a profit. You're helping them get the things they need at a discounted price and they're helping you make a small profit. The store where you bought it from also makes sales from the the bulk buy you made.  It's a win-win situation.

 Other Methods to Make Money

Cashbacks

If you do not enjoy clipping coupons then using cashback on purchases could also be a good way to get goods at a discount and sell them for a profit.  Sites like ebates.com pay you money for the purchases you make.

Use Credit Card to Purchase Products with Coupons

Credit cards also offer you Cashbacks. But be wary when it comes to using credit cards because of its high interest rates.  Credit cards with NO interest plus provide cash back is a better way to buy and sell goods.  If you use coupons on top of interest-free, cash back credit card purchase, you could make huge profits.

 Overtime, the small profit from each item could add up and you could have a neat income for the entire month.

If you do not like selling the extra stuffs you accumulated, you can always donate them to the food bank or other charitable institutions.

Whey Protein Benefits and Side Effects (Bodybuilding Supplement)

If you want to build muscles or to stay fit, it is good to know what supplements out there are effective and can help advance your goals. Determining the whey protein benefits and side effects (Bodybuilding supplement) before using it can help you gain the maximum results.  Whey protein is a powder made from whey.  It does not contain sugar.  It is considered a good supplement for bodybuilders and fitness buffs alike.

The supplement is mainly used to gain weight and to maintain the lean muscle mass in the body.  People who want to attain a great physique can take the powder so they can gain mass muscles too. The powder is considered as nutritional supplements.  People should consult their doctor before they start taking the product.

Most protein powders in the market contain 2 to 5 grams of carbohydrates which come mostly from their lactose content and fat content of 1 to 3 grams.  

Ingredients

The main ingredient in whey protein powder is protein isolates.  The purest of its kind is the most expensive protein.  Using the most pure protein provides more protein on each serving.  The fat and carbohydrates content of the supplement are kept minimally low.

Benefits

The powder provides a number of benefits particularly when it comes to nutrition and health including the following:

1. Meal replacement. The powder contains numerous ingredients may make it a suitable replacement for full meals. Its healthy ingredients usually include essential vitamins and minerals, ion exchange whey protein isolate, taurine, potassium, potassium chloride and sodium chloride, calcium, phosphorous, L-glutamine, magnesium, niacin and zinc.

2. 100 percent pure whey protein isolate.  This means the powder does not contain protein concentrate. Pure whey protein isolate is absorbed by the body faster than concentrates.

3. Great for athletes.  Protein in the powder can keep up with the athlete active lifestyle. It can help muscles recover faster and enhance growth of the muscles.  The glutamine content of the supplement enables it to repair muscles quickly.

4. Great for Lactose intolerant people. People who cannot consume lactose, dairy or sugar substitute products will find Isopure a great supplement and replacement of milk.  This product does not contain lactose whatsoever.  It is also free from aspartame which can cause problems such as cancer.  Lactose intolerant people will not have upset stomach if they ingest the protein shake.

5. Builds Lean Muscles. Protein is a necessary component of building lean mass muscles.  This powder supplement can readily provide nutrients to your muscles. After every work out, your muscle needs nutrients such as protein and vitamins to boost the effects of the work out.

6. Fat Loss.  The supplement does not contain carbohydrates. This enables you to lose pounds safely and quickly.  All you will get is lean muscles minus the excess fats which lead to unsightly bulges in the body.  

7. Great Tasting.  The pure protein comes in a variety of flavors.  You can mix the powder with water or non fat milk to make creamier shake.  The great flavors of the protein powder include Orange Creamsicle, Creamy Vanilla, Strawberry & Cream, Dutch Chocolate, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl.

8.  Casein protein content.  This kind of protein is a slow releasing protein. This means the muscles will have continuous supply of protein for long period of time compared to other protein powders.  This is highly beneficial for muscles recovering from a strenuous workout. 

Side Effects

Moderation is the key.  As long as you do not take extreme dosages of Isopure protein then the side effects will not likely show.

1. Kidney Stones.  Anything that you take in excess can cause kidney problems. If you consume whey protein excessively, kidney stones may result. High protein diets may increase the release of calcium to the body. 

2. Liver Illness.  People with liver problems may incur liver ailments due to the increase of protein in the body.  If the metabolism rate is slower compared to protein consumption, accumulation of dangerous waste products may result. People with damaged livers must avoid proteins and protein supplements.

3. Interactions with Medications.  The L-glutamine content may react negatively with certain medications. L-glutamine will reduce the effects of anticonvulsant drugs, chemotherapy and lactulose, a drug that can decrease ammonia . However, drug interaction will only be apparent if whey protein is consumed in large dosages.

4. Allergies. For people who are lactose intolerant, they might incur negative allergic reactions to whey protein.  If the person is allergic to whey then he or she should avoid the supplement.  Possible reactions might include difficulty of breathing, skin rashes, swelling, bloating, stomach upset, sneezing, congestion and others.

If the benefits far outweigh the side effects then using whey protein powder might be a good option for you especially if you are into bodybuilding.  

3 Effective Tips on How to Protect Your Home from Burglary

Buying a home is a huge investment.  It is only apt that you take good care of the money you invested in.  Protecting your home from burglary is an important part of preserving your home.  Burglars are getting more creative in their approach.  Homeowners should be innovative too in their methods of warding off potential burglars. 

With the worsening economy, it is not surprising why burglary is on the rise.  The US Department of Justice reports that burglary occurs in every 15 seconds in America.  More than 6 million American homes are burgled each year. This translates to an average loss of almost $ 2,000 worth of property or damages in property.  Here are some tips on how to protect your home from burglary:

1. Make Your Home Unappealing to Burglars

    - Use curtains, drapes and shades to keep intruders from seeing valuables inside your house.  Do not draw unnecessary attention to your house.

    - Cut down bushes and shrubs especially those near windows or doors.  This will make the entrance of burglars inconspicuous, making it easier for them to force entry into your home.

   - Install outdoor lighting.  Installing lights in the driveways, pathways and garden will enhance the scenery at the same time provide safety for the family members. A well-lit house discourages thieves from breaking in. Some landscape lights even come with special sensors which can alert homeowners in case of intrusion. 

   - Do not throw away empty boxes of new laptops or new high definition tv in the curb. Seeing newly bought, expensive appliances will make your home very tempting to thieves.  Do not provide them a reason to target your home.  

   - Do an impression of movements inside the house.  Thieves do not like breaking into a house filled with people.  Turn on the radio even if nobody is at home. You can also use lights or appliances with timer that will turn on at an appointed time. This will simulate the presence of people inside the house. 

  - If you are away from home for days or weeks, let a friend regularly pick up your mails.  Also, ask someone to mow your lawn or hire a reliable house sitter.

  - Keep the doors locked and always use strong locks in your windows and doors. The locks must require a key to unlock it.

  - Do not keep valuables in the bedroom.  This is the first place the thieves would go to. Thieves only spend an average 15 minutes in the house, a large part of it is spent in the bedroom. 

2. Installing Security Alarms

   - Make technology work for you.  If you install CCTV at home, it is easy to catch the burglar if they managed to get past the security systems. 

  - Home alarms would sound off if intrusion is detected.

  - Motion sensing lights or motion sensors will turn on when motion is noticed. This will definitely catch the would-be burglars by burglars. This can also alert the people inside the house and the neighbors.

3. Neighborhood Watch

   - Organize a neighborhood watch. Solicit the cooperation of your neighbors in maintaining the safety of your place.  Neighbors should take turn looking after the houses in their neighborhood.  It will be a good idea to schedule the neighbors’ watch based on their available time so everybody will be given a chance to volunteer. 

  - Hire security personnel to make rounds in the neighborhood.  The personnel could have duty shifts to ensure that they are available during critical times. 

Consider getting a homeowner’s policy.  In case burglary does occur, you can be sure that you will still be protected. They cover the risks of theft inside the house. The homeowner receives financial compensation from the losses brought about by burglary. 

3 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website

Learning how to drive traffic to the website is one of the foremost concerns of website owners. After all, the popularity of the website hinges on his/her knowledge on how to drive traffic to the site.

Promoting websites in order to attract visitors is a must. However, this is no easy task. The good news is there are a number of resources that can help you to do just that.

Links

Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) conducted a study on the most effective way to drive visitors to your site. The results showed that links is one reliable source of traffic. One of the sites that took part in the study reported a whopping number - 84% - of their visitors came through the links.

Trading links is one strategy that you should consider. To do this, you can add a page called “Helpful Links” which will list external links. Keep in mind though that the links you referred to must contain information that can provide additional information to your readers.

The idea behind external links is that if the visitors must leave your site, they should at least go to places that would add value to your site. If you have a personal finance site then linking to a horoscope site may not be such a good idea because the site might not interest your visitors.

Another way to generate links is to add a page for “Testimonials.” This page would list people who have been to your site and are grateful for the information or products you provided. In the same vein, the websites could also post your testimonials together with your name and website address on their sites.

Using Signatures

The same study conducted by Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) revealed that electronic signatures reel in approximately 35% of the website’s visitors. These signatures are usually found in emails sent by the website owners to their contacts.

A signature is a free feature in all email programs. It usually consists of the name of the sender and other pertinent information such as position and, of course, website address. Add the entire website address starting with “http:/” to be sure that a link to your site will be created.

Another way to add your signature is to post interesting and relevant comments on sites or blogs that are similar to your site. After you posted the comment add your name and your website address. People who read the article will see the comments you posted then click on the link to your site, generating more traffic for you.

Your signature in forums too should have your name and website address. If you post questions or answers to forums that are have similar target audience as your site, people will naturally be curious about your site.

Article Marketing

Write ups about your site from newspapers and magazines are huge help. You can also write press releases to entice readers to come visit.

But one very effective way to draw more audience to your site is article marketing. This is where you submit your articles similar to those found in your site to article directories then add the link to your site at the bottom of these articles.

People who read your articles in directories would naturally be egged on to visit your website for more information. At the end of the article you can add the words “For more information regarding nutrition, click here.” Or, “for more information visit http://....” providing a direct link to your site.

These are but a few of the interesting ways you can promote your site to drive more traffic to it. Of course, the ways and opportunities for website promotions are limitless. Just be resourceful and creative. Every little thing that you do counts like giving out business cards or mentioning your website in parties or to your friends. These actions will add up. And later, your efforts will be rewarded by more hits and regular visits to your site.

Top 3 Ways to Relieve Stress

Stress can cause anger, worry, depression, fear and a host of other emotions. The three main emotional symptoms of stress are: anger, anxiety and depression. Emotional symptoms could be severe enough to require treatment such as extreme fear or a clinical depression.

Only warm-blooded animals are capable of emotions, hence humans. The human nervous system is the most complex tool there is. Part of the brain is responsible for emotions called the limbic system which is located in the inner brain.

Emotions make life more interesting. It distinguishes ordinary from the extraordinary, the real from surreal. Emotions can be pleasant or unpleasant. We naturally want to feel the pleasant ones and shun the unpleasant. But sometimes unpleasant emotions serve as an impetus for growth or change. These feelings could indicate that there are troubles in some areas in your life. Facing difficult feelings could be a start to solving the problem. Besides, evading them could only make the problem worse.

When several emotions plague you at the same time, it could become so overwhelming. Some would feel like giving up or feel like going crazy. Acute stress could affect the emotions negatively. It robs you of good judgment and makes you get confused in the midst of pressures. The worse is it makes you do bad choices, further aggravating your situation.


                                 

There are three main steps in handling emotional stress:

1. Sorting out Emotions

To handle emotional symptoms of stress, it is important that one identifies the emotions first and the reasons behind them. Label each emotion you are experiencing. Could it be fear? Pain? Sadness? Or a combination of the three.

Write down as many words to describe what you are feeling is best way. Writing down ideas would give concreteness to your intangible emotions. It would help clear your mind if you know or see exactly what you are dealing with.

Then try to understand why you are feeling pain? Why the fear? Or, the sadness? Knowing the root cause would make it easier to process the feelings and solve whatever is bothering you.

2. Determining Intensity of Emotions

Try to think of a situation that would increase your emotional intensity. Then think of thoughts that will decrease it. Then rate the intensity of your emotions on a scale of one to ten with ten being the highest. Try to experiment increasing or decreasing your intensity levels using thoughts. This will train you to shift emotions when you need to. When you feel down, you can think lighter thoughts to pick up your mood. Remember always, our thoughts affect our emotions and vice versa. So take care of your thoughts and your emotions will follow.

3. Releasing Emotions

Releasing emotions could come in many forms such as talking about how we are feeling to family or friends helps a lot. It would unload the strain we carried on our shoulders. Besides facing pain, fear or sadness with someone you trust could ease up the emotional burden. Some people though prefer to be alone through the process. This strategy will depend largely on the individual, on what works for him or her effectively. Acting emotions out such as crying, hugging, drawing, writing – these are a few ways to act out what we are feeling.

Talking emotions out could be done through shouting, talking, attending group therapy sessions, singing sad songs, venting out your frustrations verbally and so many other ways.

Thinking emotions out can be accomplished by feeling your emotions intensely such as feeling too fearful, or too sad so you will experience the worst possible feeling there is, freeing you from inhibitions.

Sometimes, looking at pictures or images could also relieve stress. A mural depicting serene, country setting, for instance, is a good stress buster. Watching funny movies could also be a great diversion.

Various Benefits of Grapeseed

Grapes, the main source of grapeseed supplement, are known to contain some healing properties since ancient times.  Grape fruit has been used for medicinal purposes in age-old Greece and in Egypt 6,000 years ago.  Ancient Greek philosophers recounted in their writings the ability of grapes to cure various maladies.

The grapeseed supplement is extracted from grape seeds and marketed in the form of tablets or capsules.  The grape seed extract contains huge concentration of the substance called oligomeric proanthocyanidin complexes (OPC) which is a potent antioxidant.  The supplement also contains polyphenols, another rich antioxidant source.

The OPC helps protect the cells from free radicals and promote better blood circulation.  This antioxidant is effective in curbing cell damage brought about by free radicals.  But the wondrous effects of OPCs do not end there. More and more clinical studies have been conducted through the years to determine the health benefits derive from this antioxidant.

The studies on the health benefits of grape seed extracts first came about as a result of the studies on puzzling “French paradox.”  The French are known to ingest foods that could induce heart ailment. But in a strange twist, despite the presence of these unhealthy foods in their diet, the French had the lowest incidence of heart disease.

Scientist attributed this phenomenon to the French people’s love of red wine, a by-product of grapes.   Researches have shown that the OPC in red wine had shielded the French from cardiovascular ailments and help promote the health of their hearts.  Consequently, scientists discovered that grapeseed supplement made from the extract of the seeds has the highest levels of OPCs.

Grape seed extract is considered the most powerful antioxidant available.  It is 20 times more powerful than Vitamin C and 50 times more potent that Vitamin E.  This antioxidant can pass through the blood brain barrier to promote the health of tissues in nerves and brain.  It prevents the accumulation of plaque in the arteries, aiding in the smooth flow of blood from the heart.  It is known to enhance memory and wards off the debilitating effects of senility.

Clinical indications show that the grape seed extract primarily helps in treating various vascular diseases, retinal insufficiencies, cognitive decline and in preventing cancer and healing wounds.

Dosage and Interactions

Grapeseed supplement normally comes in 50 to 100 mg capsules.  There is no established recommended daily dosage intake for the supplement.  However, Debasis Bagchi, leading researcher of grape seed extracts,  recommends a daily dose of 50 mg for 30 to 40 year olds and 100 mg for 40 year old and above.

A study conducted for 12 months on rodents injected with 100 mg of grape seed extracts daily reveal that the supplement can be taken safely for that span of time.  In other clinical trials, oral intake of the supplement shows no adverse side effects after 8 weeks of use.

Grapeseed supplement has little side effects.  People taking blood thinners are advised to proceed with caution since the extract can cause excessive bleeding.  Individuals who have allergies to grapes should not take the supplements also.  The extact may hinder the effects of cholesterol lowering medications.  It will be a good idea to consult a health professional before taking the supplement.