quality control for psychic readings

[OstapBender]

Wouldnt it be great if there would be a sort of organization to test psychics who are offering their services at a commercial basis? If the psychic passes the test he or she is allowed to call herself "qualified psychic" or so. It shouldnt be very hard to do to get a test group of, say, 5-10 people who can then report if the reading was correct and if the psychic has prove his/her abilities.

This should be great for both the psychics as they have the possibility to qualify themselves and of course for their potential clients, who can then be sure that they will get a higher probability to get value for their money.

Also this would allow to bring more seriousness to the whole field and sort all kind of trickery and fraud out of the businness.

What do you think?

[Harmonium]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

[esoteric53]

Theoretically a good idea.....But Psychic reading is not an exact science.
Can work great with some and fail with others despite the commitment.... So...When it doesn't work it doesn't necessarily mean that the psychic is a crook.....

[Kaie]

Originally Posted by esoteric53

Theoretically a good idea.....But Psychic reading is not an exact science.
Can work great with some and fail with others despite the commitment.... So...When it doesn't work it doesn't necessarily mean that the psychic is a crook.....

Yes, that.

[OstapBender]

How can we (the customers) then differ a crook psychic from a real one in advance? If there are no ways to do that it is just a gamble to which one do I trust my money.

Or maybe one could start off by asking the psychic to tell the name/birthplace etc in advance, to know if he/she is real?

[niknac]

Originally Posted by OstapBender

How can we (the customers) then differ a crook psychic from a real one in advance? If there are no ways to do that it is just a gamble to which one do I trust my money.

Or maybe one could start off by asking the psychic to tell the name/birthplace etc in advance, to know if he/she is real?

What needs to be verified may be more of one's own reality or awareness to oneself than that of testing the abilities of a psychic...if one's own intuition is already peaked/exercised, and attention is given to that intuition, it is quite simple to "know" whether another person will be able to assist or guide through appreciating one's own "inner voice". If there are concerns, acknowledge those concerns; there is no magic awakening that can originate out of another and transform into one's own enlightment; it must generate from one's self.
The initial comment regarded developing a credentialling sort for the psychics...the intent would be to create a system to recognize "qualified" indiviuals. Suppose I may be a bit jaded in this respect; wouldn't the individual [consumer] become more reliant on the opinions of others [credentialling sources] as to who is or is not qualified or certified; wouldn't the decision to challenge and exercise intuition, awareness and connection be evaporated in this process? The best and most suitable process in my opinion is to think for yourself, decide with your own self psychic what you want or do not want to hear, and more importantly just who you wish for that psychic to be.

[Erin Pavlina]

Asking a psychic to tell you facts about yourself on command tells me you do not understand how psychics function and how they get information.

REad this:
5 Myths About Psychics

What’s Going to Happen?

[Erin Pavlina]

Psychics are like any service professional. You want to read reviews, get referrals from friends you trust, and go with your gut.

Do you bring your car to the mechanic and say, "Fix it for free so I can see if you're a good mechanic?"

Do you go to the lawyer and say, "Try this case for me so I can see if I want to use you in the future?"

Or the psychologist: "prove to me you can help me get over the loss of my relationship and then I'll pay you."

[OstapBender]

Originally Posted by niknac

wouldn't the individual [consumer] become more reliant on the opinions of others

No, not opinions, but facts (= reliably high frequency of correct readings). I dont have an idea how to do it because I dont have experiences in the field, but there should be a way to verify the statements of the psychic on their correctness and plausibility.


Please let me know if I understand your point correctly: You suggest that in order to know which person is trustworthy, I have to know it by my own intuition, is this correct?
If yes: A crooked psychic makes his money through betraying and manipulating people and make them believe in his vague, generalized and uncheckable statements. Obvious it is only for my own good to learn how to recognize this sort of tricks. But a qualifying system which is based on facts and not on other peoples opinions I would trust more than a sense of intuition of my own which have failed a lot of times (otherwise what would I be interested in a psychic help for )

[OstapBender]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

Psychics are like any service professional. You want to read reviews, get referrals from friends you trust, and go with your gut.

Do you bring your car to the mechanic and say, "Fix it for free so I can see if you're a good mechanic?"

Do you go to the lawyer and say, "Try this case for me so I can see if I want to use you in the future?"

Or the psychologist: "prove to me you can help me get over the loss of my relationship and then I'll pay you."

I dont expect free goodies from someone to see if they are real. But a lawyer can present an university degree which qualifies him to do a job, likewise a psychologist and a car mechanic (I dont trust lawyers anyway ). They usually had to undergo a kind of test to prove their competence.

With the field of psychics it is a little trickier, as I as a customer have to rely either on my own "intuition" or on the opinions of others, and I know both to be way more easier to manipulate than degrees or quality tests of a product (I am not saying that the latter ones are infallible).

[Erin Pavlina]

Actually some psychics do get degrees and certifications. They go through training programs. All of the top psychics have some kind of training and certification program. There are universities where you can get a phd in metaphysics, spiritual psychology, and more. Angel therapists are trained by Doreen Virtue. There are akashic record readers. Certified intuitive coaches, etc. Just research a little and yu'll find them.

most aren't working the hotlines or renting office space and offering $10 readings.

[newsight]

Originally Posted by OstapBender

How can we (the customers) then differ a crook psychic from a real one in advance? If there are no ways to do that it is just a gamble to which one do I trust my money.

Or maybe one could start off by asking the psychic to tell the name/birthplace etc in advance, to know if he/she is real?

Psychic sometimes do not pick up things all the time
I will let you in on a bit of information about myself, i used to work for a phone tarot company as a freelance psychic and tarot reader, out of the calls i was getting a day i could make a psychic connection with about 80% of the callers, the rest i couldn't connect with as soon as i picked up the phone if i couldn't make a psychic connection in 30 secounds i would appologise to the caller and tell them i could not connect to them, the company i worked for rang me up as they had listened to my calls and told me if i could not connect to a caller to just make up any stuff just to keep them on the phone, bv i refusf to do what they wanted so they told me i could not work for them any more, what i am trying to say is it would be very difficult to make a true psychic perform to ordf

[illbreaker]

Originally Posted by newsight

Psychic sometimes do not pick up things all the time
I will let you in on a bit of information about myself, i used to work for a phone tarot company as a freelance psychic and tarot reader, out of the calls i was getting a day i could make a psychic connection with about 80% of the callers, the rest i couldn't connect with as soon as i picked up the phone if i couldn't make a psychic connection in 30 secounds i would appologise to the caller and tell them i could not connect to them, the company i worked for rang me up as they had listened to my calls and told me if i could not connect to a caller to just make up any stuff just to keep them on the phone, bv i refusf to do what they wanted so they told me i could not work for them any more, what i am trying to say is it would be very difficult to make a true psychic perform to ordf

I bet not too many psychics, real or not, subscribe to your ethics.

[momo3bur]

Originally Posted by illbreaker

I bet not too many psychics, real or not, subscribe to your ethics.

Which is really sad and gives psychics a bad rep much of the time.

[helink]

I think the "test" or qualification idea is a good one in theory, unfortunately the whole industry at moment is being mismanaged and we were only talking about this the other day. Ethics, codes and even the ideas of giving from the highest is being replaced by many (not all) it is tough to separate the good from the bad, but then guess that has been a problem since time began.
I suppose as a psychic an individual can answer to themselves and who and what they believe in, and as the believer we can only trust our own intuitions and what we have to guide us.
Shame on the psychic phone companies which see a "reader" as a number and a "caller" as a cash sum. Their downfall will come we hope

[Midnite]

I want to create a Psychic Board who establish a ranking system out of 10 for all psychics. Some kind of universal system where out of the 10 members of the Board, 3 of them go and pay and get a reading from a particular psychic, unanounced like the Michelin Star Restaurant Judges, and then rank the psychic on 3-4 categories out of a system of 1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest, eg.

Specialisation: Remote Viewing
Accuracy: 6/10
Flexability: 3/10
Effective Communication: 7/10
Price: $200 p/hour: 6/10

Overall: 5.5/10

Specialisation: Tarot Readings
Accuracy: 9/10
Flexability: 8/10
Effective Communication: 7/10
Price: $800 p/hour: 3/10

Overall: 6.7/10

And then release out a "Psychic Guide" categorised by the different types of specialisations, and those who have been awarded a 'Michelin Star' or 'White Star' or whatever to be recognised. It could further be released depending on country.

Not only will it eliminate end user dissatisfaction, but the 'fake' psychics will slowly be weeded out, and I already know a lot of people who don't have enough intuition to pick a 'good' psychic themselves who would buy the Guide.

Compiling an internationally recognised Board would be the hardest part.

[OstapBender]

Originally Posted by momo3bur

Which is really sad and gives psychics a bad rep much of the time.

I think the bad rep is resulting not so much from the work ethics (I suppose many of them are trying to help others, not all obvious), but from the fact that there is no known proof (not known to me at least) for those abilities. As Erin said, it isnt an "exact science" and the human mind can easily be tricked into believing such things by cold-reading, very generalized statements and other mind-games (It is a very human thing and I know it too good from my own experience )


Midnite: great idea. I was thinking about something similar, too. The difficult part would be to find the right people to do it, they should keep a sceptical and a objective approach about the ranking. It is a pretty easy thing to be impressed by a charming but fake psychic. To illustrate what I mean: klick

[Midnite]

This is the basics of getting something like this started:

1) Foundation that is advertised and marketed: The Psychic Guide.

2) Funds for testing psychics. This can be quite a costly area if you really think about it. The future funds will be sorted out by Guide sales, howeer this does not cover initial start-up capital for creation of website, publishing fees, and on-the-road costs for testing hundreds of psychics.

3) A Board forum whereby the hub of operations could take place, like detailing who was tested and the corresponding review, future plans, upcoming psychic shows, whatever else.

4) The Board primarily concentrating in countries with easiest possible route to end product. For example America and Australia; English speaking countries, quite conscious, ready market.

5) Publishing company to produce the Guide.

6) Website which is the conductor of online marketing campaigns for maximum sales of Guides.

These kinds of things can start off with whoever you get your hands on and is willing to be a part of the foundation. Internationally recognised psychics with hardcore degrees can come later.

The biggest hurdle is all the testing fees, compounded across a whole country... for example; A psychic charges $200 for 30 mins. Lets use it as an average. You test 10 psychics and thats already $2K. 100 psychics would result in $20K. Now lets consider that at least 3 judges need to verify a psychic. So it already blossomed into a 60K figure.

One way to get around it is to just test the most renowned psychics only, that way future operating costs would only consist of psychics that were awarded 'White Stars' and whatever new talent. Let's say you only test the top 50, and every year you 'only' select 50 (included Star awarded psychics in future year budgets). So it drops it down to 30K. Spread it over like 6 months, with the first half of the year dedicated to testing psychics, and the second half dedicated to marketing the Guide.

And that was all just spontaneously come up with on the spot. Feel free to add/ subtract/ review/ critisize what I have said above.

[OstapBender]

Originally Posted by Midnite

The biggest hurdle is all the testing fees, compounded across a whole country...

I could imagine that many psychics would be happy to make a test reading for free for the option to be included in the "guide" and to get their "white star" or whatever. It would be a great marketing/qualifiying opportunity for their reputation and businness, no?

The problem is then obvious that the test would not be incognito which could somehow influence the results.

[Erin Pavlina]

Bob Olson did what you guys are talking about. He was a detective, a skeptic, hell bent on proving psychics were frauds, until he had a reading that changed his mind. He then went out there testing a whole bunch of psychics (incognito, he paid for the readings) and made a list of the best. the only problem is that after testing a couple dozen, he had to stop (it was getting expensive), so his list contains many psychics he definitely endorses, but does not contain all the psychics that should be on there.

[Andrew Gubb]

Ooh ooh ooh! What about a wiki?? or something?

some sort of user-driven psychic rating website?