In all walks of life, there are frauds and fakes. Wherever there is a buck to be made, these individuals will go to great lengths to extort money from innocent people. From mechanics and carpenters to bankers and lawyers. There are personalities within every niche that have no experience or training and knowledge. But they will try to dupe you with their wisdom. The world of psychics and mediums is no exception. The sad thing is, many suffering people looking for a lifeline will fall for their charms. Some would call this willful stupidity and claim it is their own fault for falling for a scam. However, suffering can make you act in ways that you would not normally succumb to. This, of course, can be detrimental to one’s life.
Spirituality or mediumship, and psychic skills are unregulated niches. They are without established standards, and it is unlikely to ever have real regulation. Therefore, it becomes an easy target for dishonest individuals exploiting people's suffering and grief. But in a unique niche that has no legislative control or definitive standards. It is fair game to the unscrupulous who target the suffering and those who grieve.
Just as one can clean up a house and easily mess it up again through free will. One thing is for certain: we won’t stop frauds and fakes from operating in the paranormal arena. It’s rather like banning guns under the constitution; it won’t stop criminals from getting them.
Horrific examples of unscrupulous psychics and mediumship
You only have to browse the internet to learn about unfortunate individuals who have been duped into psychic scams. These individuals lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. A glaring example of psychic fraud is Priscilla Kelly Delmaro. As reported by the New York Times and other media outlets in 2016. She was charged with defrauding a business executive out of $713,975, and allegedly promised to reunite him with a woman he loved even after he learned she had died. Delmaro pleaded guilty to grand larceny and served jail time. Her unfortunate victim was preyed upon because of his grief and desperation. As a result, he continued to feed and be bled by her.
Curse Removal
In another case; a woman in Scotland was taken in by a psychic and lost thousands of pounds when the individual claimed she was under a dangerous curse. She claimed the only way to remove it would be a particular spell that would cost an exorbitant amount of money. Or what about the family who lost money with the promise of having wealth beyond their wildest dreams? Stories like this are far too commonplace, even more so with the rise of the internet’s over-serviced ‘psychic industry.’
Whilst we will never stamp out unscrupulous psychic frauds from exercising their free will to cash in on vulnerable, unaware people. We can help to minimize the chances of being duped and ripped off. Should we decide to seek spiritual support and guidance. This can be achieved through a combination of basic education and learning how to differentiate between genuine, ethical practitioners. Being able to discern inadequately developed practitioners and fraudsters. Improving education and protection. We are then working to raise standards and ethics in mediumship and psychic practices. Thus ensuring that mediumship standards and psychic standards and ethics are raised sufficiently to provide more education and protection.
A psychic does not the medium make
One of the greatest tragedies is when a psychic considers themselves a medium but does not understand the difference between a psychic reading and evidential messages from spirit. Nor do they understand how this can actually cause damage to an individual seeking comfort from losing a loved one. The psychic may believe that information received is coming from a discarnate, and whilst many could argue the point. It is the lack of supporting evidence of the original statement or link that will give it away.
The unscrupulous person posing as a psychic can also cause tremendous damage to the grieving. They are the worst of all because they can tap into a general statement and create a seed of fear in the vulnerable sitter who may be none the wiser. A person with some degree of real psychism within them can hit on some helpful things, but one who knowingly deceives their ‘clients’ and does it just to extract money, is worse than the lowest forms of spirit.
Not all mediums are mediums
Some individuals consider themselves mediums without adequate knowledge and experience, with only a workshop or two under their belt and perhaps a few hits here and there. Then they go out into the world with a drive to heal people who are suffering from grief, which is a fallacy, in actual fact.
Grief is a necessary part of life that we all experience at some point in our lives, but the only person who can heal you through grief is yourself. In fact, grief is something that must be integrated and accepted. A medium is a conduit for spirit and can help you on your journey for a short time by providing real evidence of loved ones around you. Being able to give a reading is only a small part of the mediumship process, and becoming a medium is not like choosing a bike or new car. It is a lifestyle choice with many challenges along the path.
Professional practices
One of the best ways to protect the public and ensure the integrity of those who take up the path of mediumship, is to develop professional practices and standards that extend far beyond the basic ability to give an accurate reading. It is the whole package, being able to go beyond the limits. Walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. Of vital importance in mediumship is how a message is delivered; a delicate balance between helping and hindering. Moreover, the experience of learning the language of the soul and decoding what spirit is trying to say is a fundamental skill that can’t be learned just from a book, course or video.
There was a time when a development group and circle enabled fledgling mediums to patiently grow from mere seeds under the guidance of experienced, caring mentors, but that seems to have been lost and replaced with an ‘add water and mix’ attitude. Whether it is a drive to gain more money to make a living or some other ambition, such as the trappings of fame, there are now more untrained and undisciplined individuals labeling themselves as mediums who pose a danger to those who grieve. Some of them may not even realize that because they are unaware of traditional development groups and circles.
It is, therefore, important that mediumship standards are raised and we return our focus to development to ensure that we mirror real ambassadors of the spirit and not ambassadors of ourselves. The greatest gift we can give to those who grieve is the knowledge that our loved ones live on in spirit and that death is a mere transition.
ISSMPI - The International Society for Scientific Mediumship and Parapsychological Investigation
The ASSMPI, now known as the ISSMPI (International Society for Scientific Mediumship and Parapsychological Investigation), is a nonprofit organization that developed standards for mediumship practices many years ago. The ISSMPI developed these standards much earlier than other organizations in the US. Many individuals adopted these standards globally, which helped to ensure integrity and care within the practice of mediumship and grief. The organization continues to use and develop these standards today. However, an academic balance between mystical experiences, scientific measurements, and the intersection of lived experience remains absent. This is one new direction the organization will be taking from 2026 onward—bringing more evidence to the mystical experiences and lived experience.
Further Recommended Reading
Are Mediums and Channels Ready For Professionalization? by Craig Weiler
Helen Duncan: The Medium Who Shook a Nation by Jock Brocas
Are All ‘Professional’ Mediums the Real Deal? by Mary-Anne Kennedy
Qualities of the Best Psychic Practitioners - Observations of a Parapsychologist/Psychic Entertainer by Loyd Auerbach
Note: A Renewed Thirst for Mediumship Standards and Development by Jock Brocas was originally published the The Afterlife Magazine which has since merged with the PDN group.
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