On this week’s ‘So You Think You’re an Adult’, one woman is worried about her adult daughter’s obsession with psychics. 

“My adult daughter is a very bright person and incredibly talented,” she told Moncrieff. “She was a high achiever in school, but now I fear she isn't making the smartest choices. 

“She has recently finished college and wants to travel, but all of her money is going on psychics. 

“She lost a friend a few years ago and believes that she can communicate with her through a man who meets her a couple of times a month.” 

The woman is worried her daughter isn’t processing her grief in a healthy way. 

“Moreover, this psychic is just conning my vulnerable girl,” she said. 

'A form of therapy'

Broadcaster Declan Buckley said there’s a level of “sneer” behind the woman’s concerns for her daughter’s affinity for psychics. 

“People kind of kind [psychics] mildly amusing,” he said. “I kind of see a lot of people who kind them a form of therapy also. 

Declan said the listener should trust her daughter to be the “bright and incredibly talented person” that she described. 

“She lost a friend of hers and whether she believes they can communicate through this [psychic] isn't so much relevant as maybe that when she's talking to this psychic about it, that is actually her processing some of the emotional feelings she feels?” he said. 

Tarot cards. Image: Alfie / Alamy Stock Photo

“The reality of this is if you took out the word ‘psychic’ and said ‘Father Joe, the parish priest’ or a Scientologist... for some, they give great comfort and hope, other people are a bit more sceptical. 

“The real question is, is what the person is getting from the experience greater than any kind of negative stuff that might be happening?” 

Professional help

Writer Barbara Scully strongly disagreed with Declan’s take that going to the psychic was like going to a priest. 

“The flags that would stand out to me this man meets her a couple of times a month,” she said. 

“If you're a young person who's lost a friend, that's a hugely traumatic thing to have to deal with and she does need to talk to somebody – but I think she needs to talk to somebody who's qualified in helping her deal with the grief.” 

Psychologist taking notes during psychotherapy session. Image: tommaso altamura / Alamy Stock Photo

Declan said sometimes people just need to “talk” to get through their grief rather than go through any “cognitive behaviour therapy”. 

Barbara argued that because this is the loss of a young friend, a qualified professional is necessary to help the listener’s daughter process her grief. 

“Don’t go down the road of telling her psychics are rubbish – like you said, she’s an adult and she can do what she likes,” she said. 

“But I do think that she should try and encourage her to go into proper therapist and have a couple of sessions.”