[Lifestyle] The counselors fusing therapy and psychic readings: ‘I knew every word my client was going to say’

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rom meditation and breath work to ketamine journeys led by self-described shamans in high-end Manhattan clinics, therapies once considered alternative are increasingly being incorporated by the western mainstream – sometimes with the language and rituals of spiritualism creeping in. A new generation of counselors is taking this further, fusing psychotherapeutic and psychic services. Mainstream psychologists are concerned that without clear boundaries between the two, clients could be taken advantage of. As interest in spirituality booms – a 2022 study found that nearly nine out of 10 Americans hold one belief that can be described as “new-age spiritualism”, whether that’s reincarnation, telepathy, or astrology – some therapists working in more traditional counseling are moonlighting as psychics. Others, like Amanda Charles – a psychologist with a long-held interest in spiritualism, which she previously did not discuss with her therapy clients – are “coming out” as mediums. Charles said she was concerned that revealing her psychic beliefs would destroy her career. But, she said, “since coming out, I have clients all over the world”.Others stepping in to meet demand include Betsy LeFae, named one of Time Out’s top psychic mediums last year. She’s a former social worker who now runs the Trust Yourself: Intuition School, a self-help institution that teaches students how to “tune out negative influences/energy and find trust in their inner voice”. Ashley Torrent, who describes herself as a psychospiritual counselor and medium, offers counseling and readings to “honor the relationship between our humanity and our divinity”, and the Helix Training Program, based in New York, is a “non-denominational seminary” that offers “unique training in psychospiritual counseling and work in personal transformation”. Psychology Today keeps a list of practitioners in 39 US states who describe themselves as “spirituality therapists”; last year, the Washington Post reported that more than half of patients were interested in spiritually integrated therapy, and that training had popped up to teach clinicians how to incorporate ideas like mystical experiences into treatment. Even psychics who do not claim to be therapists cloak their branding in the language of personal reinvention. The psychic hotlines of yore have made way for gen Z-friendly apps like Kasamba, which offers a lineup of “expert advisers” to help “find your path to happiness”. Keen, the largest online database of mediums, claims to have served “14 million satisfied customers”, who have had a total of “45 million meaningful conversations”. The app’s logo is a green leaf, not unlike the emblem for the therapy app BetterHelp, which features two hands resting over an emerald-tinted fern – it’s a far cry from charging a dollar a minute to commune over the phone or working out of neon-lit basements.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/oct/18/the-counselors-fusing-therapy-and-psychic-readings-i-knew-every-word-my-client-was-going-to-say