Are psychic readings being used as an alternative to therapy? Increasingly, it appears that this is indeed true.

A professional psychic reading (as opposed to fortune telling), conducted by an experienced consultant with a proven track record, will always include a degree of counselling. It comes with experience, and it comes with the territory. It also includes valuable life guidance and insight. 

However, over the past 2 years in particular, there has been a notable change to the type of issues clients are presenting to the psychic – and an increase in those demonstrating anxiety and reactivity. Major problems that cannot be resolved in a psychic session, including ongoing family conflict, self-harming, thoughts of suicide, depression, and deeply ingrained victim mentality – there are no easy answers to these, and no psychic has a wand with which to magically transform the future. 

So, why are more and more people turning to psychics when it is obvious that a mental health practitioner, ongoing therapy sessions, or even a reality check, would be more appropriate? 

Well, maybe it isn’t obvious to the client that they even need a different kind of service. Maybe it would be too difficult to admit to. Maybe they just want to be told that all of their problems will quickly and easily melt away. It could be that they don’t want to have to invest the time and money required in ongoing therapy and hope that a psychic reading will be a quicker, cheaper fix. It could also be that they know what they need to do – but can’t quite face it right now and are hoping that somehow an alternative will surface, saving them from having to face the inevitable.

It does sometimes appear that the client doesn’t really understand how it all works and is harbouring unrealistic expectations. One middle-aged lady once informed me, in no uncertain terms, that a psychic reading should make her feel better. That was the purpose of them, she believed – and was clearly trying to use them as a crutch, and an emotional painkiller. I had to beg to differ. Suffice to say, I didn’t hear from her again. 

The truth is, a psychic consultation is, and should be approached as, a self-help tool. I have recognised, recently, that a lot of people don’t like that idea and disagree with it. That, of course, doesn’t mean I am wrong. Self-help has become a dirty term nowadays, and there is a belief that a ‘real’ psychic should be able to see and predict the client’s future without any engagement or involvement from them. Otherwise, they’re not really being psychic, they’re just digging for information. 

The main problem with that belief is that there isn’t only one pathway set in stone ahead of us. There are many different potential pathways which we ourselves are shaping and forming as we live each day, switching from one to another, regularly and often unknowingly. Yes, some things are set in stone — but many are not. If we do A, this happens, if we do B, that happens. Intuition is, as I state very clearly on my website’s How I Work page, about insight and information. That is its sole purpose. To provide insight into situations, ourselves, and other people. To inform us, warn us, nudge us. To provide a sneak preview of some of the possibilities, potentials, and even pitfalls that lurk ahead of us. Therefore, a psychic reading isn’t something we should be passive about — not engaging, sitting on the fence, waiting to see what the reader can pick up about us. What is the point of that?

 Receiving a consultation and only focusing on selected bits to either obsess over or become angry about is also pointless. We need to be open to all of it and reflect upon it, over time. If all we are hearing is good news, or that which we want to, we should be highly suspicious. In such a case, we are being patronised, hoodwinked, or having information withheld. And if that is the kind of service a person wants, I hope that they don’t cross my path — I do not want them as a client.

So, who is my ideal client (and vice versa)? It’s a very easy question to answer: My ideal client is the one who is genuinely interested in using the consultation to help themselves. Oh, and, regardless of age, is emotionally mature enough to not react with tears and tantrums, or even plain nastiness (because they are in a ‘bad place’). A psychic consultation is about personal empowerment. It is akin to being given a handful of jigsaw pieces to fit into the puzzle of our life. If we can’t understand that, or cope with it, we shouldn’t be using the service. Or, we should stick to those readers who say soothing things and validate our feelings and behaviour, even when they are clearly questionable! That’s a tea-and-sympathy thing, not a genuine psychic consultation. But hey, horses for courses. Just don’t go believing that they are the same.

I have recently rebranded my business, after 30 years as a professional psychic consultant. I really love working with those who use the service to help themselves, as if it is a light being shone on their lives, a mirror reflecting themselves and their potential future back to them – those who are open to insight and not just predictions that they want to hear. We are all blessed to have access to our own, and other people’s, intuition. Let’s use it intelligently.