Psychic profession under attack

ITV's This Morning recently ran a feature on whether psychics were con artists. The interview was topical as a well-known TV medium, Sally Morgan, had recently been accused of fraud at a Dublin Theatre by a radio phone-in caller identifying herself as "Susan". I'm not particularly familiar with Sally's work and have never seen her television show, yet I feel sympathy for her.

The claims that Sally was using assistance to bring messages from the deceased to people in the theatre audience were made by an unidentified person (out of an audience of 700) only once but subsequently quoted many, many times in various media outlets world-wide, including the Daily Mail newspaper. Despite the theatre itself making a public statement backing Sally and refuting the claims, and this caller never being heard of again, sceptics cited this to be another example of psychics using underhand techniques to make money out of vulnerable people. Morgan is now seeking aggravated damages in the High Court, citing the "serious and offensive nature" of allegations which appeared in the Daily Mail which effectively accused her of perpetrating a deliberate fraud on the public, which "struck at the heart of her professional and personal reputation, integrity and honesty." In her High Court writ against Daily Mail publishers Associated Newspapers, Morgan describes herself as a "professional psychic" and claims to have privately helped numerous people overcome traumatic or emotional situations.

 

Left: How can genuine psychics reassure consumers of trust, integrity and quality?

Psychics vs. sceptics

The current cultural attitude towards psychics, which is magnified by the media, illustrates why genuine psychics need to be especially vigilant to ensure their conduct is professional, transparent and non-exploitative (either emotionally or financially). Particular care should be given to wording and presentation of services or guarantees offered, and any beneficial claims need to be substantiated. Similarly, psychics and their clients should be aware that fake testimonials from 'satisfied customers' are now illegal (Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Practices Regulations, 26 May 2008, ASA). The UK law  requires all psychics, tarot readers and clairvoyants to state "All services are for entertainment purposes only" in any advertising literature, whether they believe that to be true or not.

Above: Daniel Dunglas Home - a controversial psychic or a clever
fraud? Debate raged in the Victorian era; opinion is still divided today.

The media-frenzy around the Sally Morgan's case feeds the argument for more regulation of the psychic industry, which is still relatively young and in some senses just stepping out from the shadow of the middle ages. A UK-wide membership body with recognised training and code of conduct would help the authentic psychic shake off a professional stigma that labels practitioners as fraudulent at worst and naive, deluded simpletons at best.

The art of psychic reading

 Yet, at this stage quite how regulation would be achieved is hard to know. From my own experience the psychic clairvoyant develops a personal style and library of symbolic meaning which is used to translate information for each client. An effective psychic clairvoyant literally, in the words of Simon Cowell, "makes it [the work] his/her own." On top of that, sessions are very individualistic; there is no one truth or way of looking at things and each reading may be coloured by the clients situation, mood and character, as well as levels of trust/rapport between client and reader.

Above: Image of witches being hanged, from England's Grievance Discovered in Relation to the Coal Trade by Ralph Gardiner, 1655.

I liken the psychic process to be a little like psychotherapy; it is an art - not a science. It is personal, not impersonal. It will not suit everyone's taste or temperament, and therefore may be of little benefit to someone who is only analytical and rational in their approach to life, or someone who is uncomfortable with introspection or recognising their own feelings. Most psychotherapists, whether medically qualified or not, are not primarily scientists. Furthermore, there is a strong body of evidence to suggest that people drawn to the arts/humanities are very different to those drawn to the exact sciences, and this difference manifests early in life (Ref: Liam Hudson). It seems to me possible that those with scientific 'left' brain development find the idea of psychic readings so appalling because it literally makes no sense to them. This would explain the sometimes attacking nature of left-brained professions when confronted with a right-brain psychic who relies on a different way of seeing, understanding and being.

Above: Scientists continue to explore how some cognitive functions tend to be dominated by either the right or left side of the brain. Creative Commons: Gutenberg Encyclopedia 

The left-brain is associated with logical, rational/sequential, analytical and objective think which looks at individual parts. The right-brain is associated with random intuitive, synthesising, subjective and holistic thinking.

A case for industry regulation

Aside from the NHS-funded Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, there is similar lack of conclusive research findings that 'scientifically prove' the positive effects of psychotherapy. Like psychics, anyone can set up as a counsellor without having any professional training or experience. Yet, the psychotherapy profession, with its roots in 1860s, is more widely accepted today due its theoretical history and the work of regulatory bodies such as the BACP and UKCP. Today even 'healing', the intuitive industry's natural bedfellow, is increasingly regulated by structured member organisations with national standards of training, and is therefore more tolerated by healthcare professionals when used alongside conventional medicine. Meanwhile, the psychic profession remains in the margins of respectability.

I wonder how long it will be before psychics will have their own industry standards, trust/quality marks and government regulated code of practice?

Just as the public needs to be protected, doesn't the reputation of genuine psychics need to be protected from abuse too?

© Copyright Amber Garnet 2011

Ref: Hudson, Liam The Cult of The Fact, p.83. London. Cape.

[PLEASE NOTE: I am a 'psychic', that is, I simply see and feel the energy and feelings around a given situation or relationship, whereas 'mediums' channel messages from people who have 'passed over'. There is sometimes confusion between the two terms due to incorrect use. A 'psychic medium' will combine both approaches.]