Mentally Ill clients

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 15 Aug 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Hummingbird	15 Aug 2002
One of my first ever professional readings was for a teenage girl whom I intuitied as being schizophrenic. It was EXTREMELY challenging. I hope to either avoid this type of client altogether, or be "sent" only minorly mentally ill people in the future! Mental illness is a serious, sad thing. I dealt with her as best as possible, but she was oppositionally defiant as well. She was also extremely intuitive her own self, and was reading the cards as well, but in a power-trippy way. She kept asking me about a guy she liked, whom I did not see in the cards AT ALL. Has anyone else had similar experiences? How did you deal? (I was able to somewhat diagnose her from my having worked in the mental health field in the past. And some of it was just intuited.)

Royal Cat	15 Aug 2002
Oh that's rough... :( I don't really have any great advice for you except to maybe have a list of therapists that you can refer someone too - as well as financial consultants, lawyers, etc. for other situations. As far as keeping people like that away? Hmm.. I don't know if that's really possible. Obviously there will always be people that come to a tarot reader because they really just need a friend to talk to... but what if they are really disturbed? I'd like to hear the opinions of those who do readings professionally... Have you encountered this and what did you do? Cat

catlin	16 Aug 2002
One of my selfimposed tarot guidelines is that I do not read for ppl with mental trouble. IMO it is too risky both for the reader and the querent.

Laurel	16 Aug 2002
Like Catlin, I don't read for people I think might be mentally ill, particularly psychotic or schitzophrenic. Of course, there have been times that it was only in -mid reading- that I began to intuit the querent was not well. Depression is the #1 mental illnesss that gets revealed during a reading, and I'm willing to continue on in that one case, because I feel that tarot can be very helpful as a tool to work with depression as long as you, the reader, are willing and able to "go there". But I think reading for otherwise mentally ill people is not healthy for everyone involved. For similar reasons, I don't read for people I think are taking hallucinogens, ecstacy, etc. Laurel

Hummingbird	16 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Laurel Of course, there have been times that it was only in -mid reading- that I began to intuit the querent was not well. Depression is the #1 mental illnesss that gets revealed during a reading I can handle a depressed person, no problem. But as you stated above, it is not always readily apparent that the client on the other end of the phone is ill.

midnightmerry	16 Aug 2002
I agree with whats been said so far & I don't do readings for minors, either, including teens under the age of 18. I worry that their parents may not approve. I also worry that some young people get stuck on the image of the 'fortune teller' and think that what is in the cards is impressed in concrete. They may be just too young to understand Tarot as an oracle tool, to assist someone take responsibility and direct their own life. So I don't read for minors or mentally ill people. However if a parent were to ask me for help with a child, I'd do a reading on that.

Moongold	17 Aug 2002
I don't read professionally at all but I used to work in the psychiatric disability field (12 years). In my experience most people with mental illness simply wish to be treated with respect and honesty, like you and I. They can pick negative feelings up very quickly. If someone is overtly psychotic then it's often not possible to have a straightforward conversation and I would usually just say that very simply....."It's difficult to communicate today...can we catch up later?......" or something like that. I guess if I was a professional reader I probably would choose my clients carefully as you indicated. If it became evident in a reading that something was a little different, I guess I'd just make the best judgement I could about how to deal with the situation, never forgetting the basic respect issues. I guess it is the same for many private practitioners, whether they are professional counsellors or tarot readers. How do you protect yourself in uncertain situations? I don't know what it is like in the US but here, you're much more likely to have a difficult time from the so-called ordinary person on the street who gets angry or offensive for other reasons. Just recently I was showing a relative with mental illness the cards. He is very interested in art and was fascinated with the art work of the Tarot sets I have, and also interested in the symbolism. We chatted for quite a while about these things but I did tell him that I didn't feel able to read for him on specific questions. I think the Tarot is a beautiful tool to work with people who are depressed, because it is generally so positive and can recast situations that seem terribly gloomy. It just needs explanation of course. Moongold

jade	17 Aug 2002
mid, i don't read for children either. nor do i read for mentally ill clients, although i've never been sent one to my knowledge. i did a reading the other day for this 83 year old woman and it was awful. she was lieing to me and denying everything i said..........and then she started contradicting herself......... my intuition said not to read for her, but i did and i'll listen better next time! jade

Tor	18 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Moongold In my experience most people with mental illness simply wish to be treated with respect and honesty, like you and I. They can pick negative feelings up very quickly. Thank you very much for those wise words Moongold! I have a mental illness myself - a schizotypal personality disorder - which means I have suffered from psychosis several times. When I'm in that state, I pick up things very quickly, and can easily see when someone is lying or hiding something. To be met with those things can be very frustrating and painful when I'm ill. But most of the time, like many, many other with a mental illness, I'm "normal" but suffering of anxiety and depressions. I respect all those people who are afraid of dealing with mental illness. Actually - I'm a bit afraid of "them" myself :) But I also think that if you're well grounded, harmonious and honest, you can deal with all sorts of people - even the mentally ill. I have been to some psyciatrists, and what's typical for them, is that they are so grounded. Some of them too much, or should I say - they lack a more spiritual view of life. But they all have no problems in dealing with mentally illness. So if you are afraid of all mentally ill persons, you should work on your grounding to make a better foundation. Then you also would be better aware of which one that are dangerous and who's not. Most of us are not... I recommend meditation as a technique for better grounding.

midnightmerry	18 Aug 2002
I do not read for mentally ill folks because I'm afraid of them; I don't for them because I think it is unethical. Sometimes someone in a compromised state of mind may read (pardon the pun) things into the cards that are not there. I don't want to add to anyone's burden and will only read for someone who I feel can truly handle the self-illumination or information that Tarot provides.

truthsayer	19 Aug 2002
i've read for ppl w/ personality disorders, depression or bipolar. i've worked w/ ppl professionally w/ other mental illnesses. it's my experience that it's really hard to judge who's dangerous and who's safe. some ppl are simply afraid and their tendency to be overly emotional can be frightening to others. i agree if you treat everyone you meet w/ respect and work on being grounded during readings, you should be safe. the ppl that really frighten me are the ones i cannot intuit they are coming from. a prime example are illnesses that are rooted in having a lack of a conscience. i don't know what the psychiatric term is for it now but most pp call them sociopaths. ppl who lack a conscience can be anyone and they often fit right in w/ all so called "normal" ppl. anybody remember the mass murderer ted bundy? no one could believe for a long time he killed all those women b/c he had such good social skills. one case that really shook me up was a local Ph.D. psychologist who was well loved in my community. he specialized in working w/ adolescents. then one day he was arrested for molesting his adolescent patients. at first, we all supported him and denied that it could possibly be true. we wanted to believe he was the victom of a vindictive patient but as the facts came together there was no hiding the truth. i'd been involved in community projects w/ this psychologist and his family. i had even been to his home for a couple of parties. he was one of the nicest well- adjusted ppl i ever met or so i thought. but he wasn't safe nor was he nice and my intuition never once gave me a warning. he fooled everyone for over 15 years that he had a happy marriage and family life w/ his daughter and son. there's no telling how many young boys he harmed. he's now in prison. how could he have harmed those boys? at some level he lacked enough conscience and impulse control to stop himself. that's a mental illness. moral? never assume you can trust someone just b/c s/he gives the appearance of being a regular person. that doesn't mean i'm saying trust the ppl that your intuition tells you to watch out for but please be aware that your intuition is fallible about who is and isn't dangerous. what does dangerous mean afterall? this psychologist was dangerous when alone w/ adolescent males. i was safe w/ him b/c he didn't have a proclivity to harm some one like me. ppl w/ mental disorders who are out in the open are safer than the ones who are hiding their illness or are refusing to take medications to control the brain/body chemical imbalance. ppl who are open about their mental illness and treatment might actually have more insight into their behavior than the general population. anybody ever see the movie "a beautiful mind"? this nobel prize winning scientist has paranoid schizophrenia but he isn't in denial about his illness. he also takes some medications to help him control the symptoms. i would read for someone w/ schizophrenia in a situation like this scientist who isn't in denial and in treatment and open/insightful about the illness.

Hummingbird	20 Aug 2002
Wow, some interesting thoughts have come up here. Thanks for all of the discussion. I never felt afraid of the client, but she was a bit delusional, and even stated that she knew that I already knew her, when in fact, this was our first meeting. THAT was a bit scary, I'll admit. I felt grounded, but she certainly challenged me every chance she got. How do you re-ground constantly during a reading?

truthsayer	20 Aug 2002
how do i stay grounded? well, i always ask for silence until i finish and ask if there are any questions. i advise that interruptions interfere w/ my ability to do the readings. if i'm constantly interrupted or challenged anyhow then i'd probably end the reading or do a simpler 3 card spread to finish quicker. i don't know if that answers your question but i don't constantly re-ground myself. if i did or even tried my reading would be skewed b/c i have to be able to keep my train of thought. when you set up rules and they are broken, it doesn't matter if the client is mentally ill. this is simply rude behavior and you don't have to tolerate it. if they paid in advance for the reading just give the money back. if it's a freebie, you don't owe them anything.

itolin	22 Aug 2002
newbie alert :D just asking.. I've seen a friend read for someone with multiple personality simultaneously.. for 2 different personalities, that is.. the readings were very different and somehow connected.. (like, previous personality appeared in the second reading as someone else.. ) just found that it was very interesting.. is there any other examples on reading for a multiple? thanks :) - Itolin

divinerguy	23 Aug 2002
I had a paranoid client in my law practice. It was a frustrating experience, and I was sooo very happy when we parted ways. Accused me of conspiring against her, of selling out to the enemy. Made me want to pull out my hair (maybe that's how I lost it).

The Mentally Ill clients thread was originally posted on 15 Aug 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.