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September 2026
When my GALVESTON GODDESS character, newspaper advice columnist Sandra Dunne (who is also a licensed mental health professional), advises her readers to seek counseling, what does that mean? As a retired licensed professional counselor myself, I would like to point out some important differences between advice-giving and professional counseling.
Advice-giving is probably as old as the spoken word. Who doesn’t want to help a friend in need or straighten out someone who appears to lack common sense? When we advise others, we synthesize several factors: our own experiences, our personal beliefs, our understanding of the world in which we live, our relationship with the advice receiver, and our motive for giving advice. There are many other variables that influence the process, but let’s consider these.
We give advice because we’ve lived our lives and have encountered a wide variety of situations depending on our age. We experienced the years in which we formed our sense of values, morals, and beliefs. The world was and is assessed and understood through our own lens. In a personal relationship, the decision to give advice is carefully weighed for its potential impact. In an advice column, there is no personal relationship, and readers must evaluate the wisdom given against their own opinions. Giving advice is free, subjective, and can be accepted or rejected.
In therapy, the goal of the professional therapist is not to give advice but to support the client in improving their life. The therapist typically 1) learns about the concerns that bring the client/patient to the office, 2) helps the client set goals for the therapy, and 3) evaluates issues and obstacles that influence the client’s ability to work on self-improvement.
This field includes individuals with master’s or doctoral degrees (and licensure/certification by their locale). There are Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC), Psychologists, Therapists (Family, Art, Music) and Social Workers (LCSW). Psychiatrists, who are Medical Doctors (MDs) also do therapy and are able to provide medication support.
One important note when considering counseling: the client must agree to the therapy with written informed consent. This is not just a document but an ongoing process that acknowledges therapy is voluntary, has benefits/risks, etc.
Sandra enjoys giving advice to others, although she’s slow to accept it from her friends and family. In my next book, GALVESTON GAMBIT, she will balance her personal quest with involvement in a new crime that involves her friends and estranged family.
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August 2026
Please check out Crossing the Finish Line, my blog on the Mystery Writers of America Southwest Chapter website!
A Microsoft Co-Pilot search explains why heroines in cozy mysteries sometimes have side gigs: specialized hobbies.
“Heroines in cozy mysteries often have hobbies that are both charming and relevant to their small‑town or close‑knit community, such as baking, knitting, gardening, bookbinding, tea‑drinking, and animal care. These activities not only make the characters relatable but also often tie into the plot or setting.”
When I wrote GALVESTON GODDESS, I naturally gave Sandra, the heroine, a personality similar to my own (go with what you know, right?). As the story progressed, I found she was my least interesting character, so I gave her a makeover: younger, fitter, and out to create a new life for herself. However, I kept one aspect of her personality like my own: she loves reading advice columns. In fact, so much so that she takes a job at a local weekly newspaper as their advice columnist.
She earns the job because she is a trained, licensed professional counselor in her previous career. However, counseling and advice giving are two very different kettles of fish. One of my favorite quotes about advice giving is from Agatha Christie: “Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that’s no reason not to give it.”
In the Houston Chronicle on July 27, Jeanne Phillips, aka Dear Abby, informed her readers that after 39 years of giving advice, she was retiring and leaving the column to her capable editorial staff. I’ve enjoyed reading her columns over the thirty-nine years she was in charge, having inherited it from her mother, Pauline Phillips, who penned it from 1956 to 1987.
I hope Sandra keeps writing her column, “Dear Sandy Beaches,” in the fictional Galveston Gazette for years. But I think she’s eventually going to get a day job to keep up with her island lifestyle in book two: GALVESTON GAMBIT.
In the September newsletter, I’ll discuss the differences between advice-giving and professional counseling. Feel free to share this newsletter with friends. They can sign up to receive my monthly newsletters at carolbennetts.com
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