An expert shares: "Here's how to know if you're choosing a dodgy psychic."

As you may know, the psychic industry in Australia is unregulated – although there are associations, anyone can set up shop and proclaim themselves a spiritual guru. So it’s a case of buyer beware. It’s up to you to choose wisely. No wonder people joke to me, “Do I have to be psychic to find a good psychic?!'”

Of the dozens of readings I’ve had, I’d say 20 per cent were spot on, 60 per cent were average and 20 per cent were downright dodgy. The statistics are probably similar for most of you reading this post.

Listen to psychic investigator Debbie Malone teach Mia Freedman how to tell if there’s a spirit around you, on No Filter. (Post continues after audio.) 

So, how do you know if a psychic is misleading you?

You don’t always know at the time, but you may get a tightness in your stomach, or feel like you can’t wait to leave the reading. The tightness can indicate a temporary loss of power from your Solar Plexus Chakra (gut) – this happens when we think someone is smarter or better than us. Our bodies tense in defensiveness, as a way of warning us that ‘something isn’t right’.

Afterward, you might find yourself thinking, “I already knew all that”, “Oh dear, I’m feeling less confident than before”, “He/ she didn’t give any straight answers” or even, “That was a waste of time. I’m going to stop seeing psychics”. These are signs that the experience was not an equal energy exchange.

How do you rebalance after these encounters? By remembering that no one knows you better than you. Who do you trust more? The tourist who visits a building once, or the person who built, cares for and lives in the building 24/7? As a reader, I always say to people ‘I should be your second opinion, your intuition comes first’.

To be fair, even good psychics have bad days (we’re human first, readers second). That’s why I check in frequently with people during my sessions, and offer a money-back guarantee (my refund rate is less than five people a year from hundreds of clients).

Your psychic should be checking in with you throughout the whole session. Image via Facebook.

However you may still meet dodgy psychics, who aren't spiritually mature, enjoy spreading fear and superstition, and/or are trying to make a fast buck. So, for the purposes of education, here's a digest of the five craziest things I've heard in readings. I'm listing them, so you can see that even professional psychics like me get fooled - it's how we learn what not to do.

The Five Craziest Things Psychics Have Told Me

1) "Your mother is cursed - give me $10,000 and I'll cure her."

Suffice to say, these days I always read for, or research other psychics before I let them counsel me. My first preference is to meet them in person, e.g. at an event.

Second choice is to get to know them by email or Facebook. If someone won't give me their date of birth (so I can check their lifepath) or show me their hands, I scour their website, videos, reviews, products - all the normal due diligence you'd expect of an ex-scientist.

It's amazing what people's Facebook posts and Youtube videos reveal. A red flag is if I find any insults towards their peers or clients. I don't need trash talkers in my energy field! I'm looking for people who genuinely appreciate their occupation and supporters.

2) "You're going to die at age xx."

I went to see an expensive and famous palm-reader in Hong Kong. Due to my amateur Cantonese, I used a translator, who perhaps, wasn't quite as poetic as the man she was speaking for. Imagine my horror when, five minutes after sitting down and forking over a wad of cash, she cheerfully told me the age I would cark it. What the ?!?

Needless to say - I tuned out after that. Look - an older person might like knowing their expiry date (so they can update their life insurance), but I was only in my 20s. Plus, as someone who has studied metaphysics and whose brain still works, I believe that our day and time of death can be negotiated with Spirit.

Ah well, since then I've been a lot wiser with words in my sessions, so it was a great lesson from that point of view.

3) "You're not strong enough to succeed on your own, so you must use people to get to the top... oh, and your parents will try to smother your husband... and you won't be close to your son."

I only released this reading yesterday, with the help of Veronica Farmer from Angels Rest Relaxation Clinic. Again, this was a session with an Asian fortune-teller. Although it was incredibly accurate in some ways, it was wildly disempowering in other aspects. Put it down to a cultural clash, misunderstanding on both parts and/or energy vampirism. For every nice thing this guy said, in the next breath he'd take away my faith in God.

Sarah on her wedding day, to her partner Kris. Image via Facebook.

In the decade that followed this consultation, I must have questioned his words about 500 times - I kept thinking, 'How could he be so spot-on with my personality, and wrong about my life? Am I off track?' Almost everything he predicted didn't happen - I didn't have kids at 31 and 34, I didn't need to sell my soul to run a business, my parents haven't put a bag over Kris's head, and Forrest and I don't have any issues. In fact, we adore each other!

4) "The relationship won't become anything serious."

This is what someone said about Kris after I met him - yes, Kris my fiance, the father of my child and soulmate. In this instance, I feel the person meant well. They knew I'd had some horrible breakups, and probably wanted to protect me from more pain.

5) "This aspect in your chart could mean that your child might die before you. Don't worry, maybe you'll both be old, or it might not happen."

Eek! This was a reading that I thought was going well, until they pointed this out at the end. There are some things that no one needs to know. As psychics, we must remember that our clients are sensitive, no matter how good their poker face. They're coming to us because they're facing big choices, and we have a responsibility not to misuse our power.

Telling someone their baby won't outlive them is a big deal. Yes, it's made me more grateful for my child, but it's also caused huge anxiety. This was an amateur reading that cost me weeks, if not years of stress - hence the quote at the top of this page.

Sarah with her son. Image via Facebook.

In conclusion, words are important and people are fallible. If you're ever having a reading where the psychic says something ridiculous, please tell them - even if that psychic is me. We are all each other's teachers and without feedback, no one improves.

Please understand, you're entitled to expect the same level of professionalism from any therapist - whether they are a psychic, teacher, healer or other person you're investing time, money and energy with.

There's a reason my mission is "Transforming the Public's Perception of Psychics and Their Own Intuition from Scepticism to Trust." I genuinely want people to trust their Higher Selves again.

I hope this article has inspired you to hire professionals in future, be they psychics or other advisors.

Money talks - please make sure your hard-earned cash goes to someone who's worth it. Love, money and energy well-spent, alway returns ten-fold!

This article was originally published Psychic Readings by Sarah and has been republished with full permission. 

Sarah Yip is a psychic from Brisbane, who left the science industry to become a spiritual teacher. The purpose of her business is to transform the public's view of psychics, and their own intuition, from scepticism to trust. You can find out more from Sarah on her Facebook or subscribe to her monthly newsletters.