SupernatPsychicPowersPart3

Psychic: A person sensitive to mental or extrasensory phenomena. Able to exercise psychical or occult powers. Sensitive to non-physical or supernatural forces' Clairvoyant, telepathic.

It has always been my contention that to set up shop as a 'psychic consultant' or clairvoyant, no qualifications are required other than perhaps a sympathetic ear, an elementary feeling for amateur psychology and a penchant for conversation.

To give themselves a veneer of authority, many psychics and clairvoyants advertise themselves as 'renowned', 'internationally known', 'acclaimed' and 'well-known'. Letters after one's name of course are impressive, and add a little prestige, so Mr A. Charlie Tan, MAPA (Member of the Australian Psychic's Association*) would no doubt be perceived by the non-sceptical as a qualified and respected member of a reputable association.

The opportunity to determine whether or not this is the case afforded itself following an interview on channel 7's Sydney TV show, 11 AM. On Tuesday February 8th, 1995, I was contacted by the producer and asked to watch a segment in which several psychics and other exponents of the paranormal were plying their trade. Among those interviewed was Simon Turnbull, the President of the Australian Psychic's Association, who claimed for that association a membership of eight hundred. The following morning I was interviewed on the programme as a representative of Australian Skeptics and asked to comment on what I had seen. Among other things, I opined that no qualifications were necessary to call oneself a psychic, there were no examinations, no tests, you just set up shop and advertise as such. I drew attention to Simon Turnbull's lamentable personal and public record when it came to predicting the future, giving as examples his failure in an ESP test (none out of four, and on the racetrack where he failed to pick a winner.) When asked about the Australian Psychic's Association, I again expressed the opinion that no qualifications were necessary and that one need only pay a joining fee of one hundred dollars to become a member.

Immediately after leaving the studio I realised that I had innocently and unintentionally committed a faux pas—my reference to Simon Turnbull and the racetrack was mistaken, and should have been to Gary Wiseman the astrologer. It was too late to retract—l was stuck with it.

Relating later to Barry Williams, the president of Australian Skeptics, what had been said, he too was under the impression that the racetrack farce involved Simon Turnbull, so it appears that I was not the only one to have had a lapse of memory. Psychics all look the same to us sceptics!

Repercussions soon followed in the form of a phone call from a person identifying himself as Simon Turnbull asking whether I was familiar with the laws of libel, and threatening defamation proceedings. Conceding my gaffe, I tendered an apology, adding that we would welcome an opportunity to have him on the witness stand as it could then be determined whether or not he possessed his claimed psychic powers. His ardour dampened somewhat, he said that he would have to consult his partner, but that I should get my facts right, the fee for joining the Australian Psychic's Association was not one hundred dollars it was one hundred and ninety-five dollars, (eight hundred members at one hundred and ninety-five dollars each equals one hundred and sixty thousand dollars per annum. Wow!), and furthermore, 'it's not an RSL club, we don't take anyone.' (my emphasis). Prospective members, in addition to the fee, must produce three letters from clients testifying to the applicant's psychic ability. (How's that for evidence of one's psychic powers? The mind boggles!) The conversation ended on an almost convivial note when I accepted his challenge to debate the issues rather than personalities at the Australian Skeptics National Convention in June.

Mulling over Simon's contention that the Australian Psychic's Association 'don't take anyone'—and that evidence is required of their "psychic ability", I decided that this could easily be put to the test with some subterfuge to produce facts that he would be hard pressed to refute—hence the initiation of 'Operation Termite' to determine:

(l) Whether the possession of 'psychic powers' (in the context of the accepted definition) is a prerequisite for acceptance by the Australian Psychic's Association as a member;

(2) Whether any checks are run on applicants by the APA to verify an applicant's credentials or claimed powers;

(3) whether anecdotal evidence (true or false) and the payment of a joining fee are the APA's sole criteria for determining an applicant's 'psychic power'; and

(4) whether if those criteria are the only prerequisites, could credibility be accorded that association?

A friend whom we shall call 'Joe', who makes no claim to be psychic, was co-opted as an applicant, briefed on a phony psychic background with a practice in Queensland, and given four testimonials to submit with his application for membership of the Australian Psychic's Association.

All the letters (written by various members of my family) were couched in glowing terms favourable to our 'psychic'. On three of them the surnames, addresses and phone numbers were deleted, the fourth was doctored in such a way that with care, the name and address could still be deciphered by holding the letter up to the light, and my oh my, the careless applicant had forgotten to black out the phone number which, by an odd coincidence, just happened to be that of my daughter, but she too had been primed what to say in the event of any check being made to verify the letter's authenticity.

The opportunity for the APA to conscientiously check the origin, authenticity and veracity of at least one testimonial therefore, was available to them. The letters, by the way, contained several glaring errors that would be sure to raise the hair on the neck of anyone with half an eye, yet despite the psychic talent concentrated in the occult sanctum, they raised no suspicion).

Early in 1995, Joe, our phony psychic, wrote to the APA enclosing photo copies of the fake letters and applied for membership. There being no reply, he wrote two weeks later-and then rang the office of the Australian psychic's Association at 130 Bourke Street, Sydney, to enquire whether his letters had been received. The phone call was answered by a male who, to Joe's surprise, sounded very much like Simon Turnbull (he was able to recognise certain features of Simon Turnbull's voice having heard him on radio and television), and according to his notes the conversation proceeded as follows. (Joe wishes to remain anonymous, so his real name, phone number and address have been omitted.)

APA    'Good morning, APA.'
Joe    'Good morning my name is Joe -------- '
APA    'Yes.'
Joe    'I have written to you twice but have received no reply. Have you received my letters?'
APA    'Right, just one moment please (pause and rustle of papers). Exactly whom did you write and in regard to what?'
Joe    'Just to the secretary about membership.'
APA    'I see, alright then if you could just give me a second (pause ...) your details again?'
Joe     'Joe ------------'
APA    'And did you send any money with the letter?'
Joe    'No. I asked for details and how much it costs for membership. I also sent some references.'
PA    'Ah! Professional membership?'
Joe    'Yes, that's right.'
APA    'Yeah. OK, and your address?'
Joe    'P O Box -----'
APA    'Aright fine, listen Joe, let me put this in the hands of the relevant people, and er what's your phone number?'
Joe    '234------ if you could just let me know how much and whether my references will be accepted...'
APA    'I believe we will, you should have had a form sent to you ... it ... (costs) ...one hundred and ninety-five dollars.'
Joe    'So you think it might be successful?'
APA    'Yeah, there's no problem with that.'
Joe    'No problem?'
APA    'Yeah.'

From the above conversation it would be reasonable to conclude that either Australia post was not delivering mail to the APA, or that the efficiency of the APA's secretary left much to be desired. In either case Joe was not asked to send copies of his references to the APA. (As an aside, the secretary is Ms Shabnam Ramzan, a former nurse, who also appeared on the initial 1l AM programme. Among other things she claimed to have left her well-paid nursing job to psychically help people with their problems. Woman's Day evidently has faith in Shabnam's claimed clairvoyant ability, the magazine hired her to contact Elvis Presley to find out what he thought about his daughter's wedding to Michael Jackson! The alleged conversation between the clairvoyant and the late lamented Elvis elicited some pathetic gems and a rational mind might see it as a figment of Rabzam's fertile imagination.)

To continue, no questions were asked regarding Joe's background, character or alleged psychic abilities. No interview was intimated, and there was no mention or suggestion of any testing procedure to ascertain whether or not Joe did in fact possess any psychic ability—just fill in the application form and send us the money.

APA    'Hello,'
Joe    'Hello, good afternoon, my name is Joe------- I rang you twice last week and your office promised to send me an application form for professional membership.'
APA    "Your name Mr........?'
Joe    'Joe----------'
APA    'No, no, I rang you last week.
Joe    'Did you?'
APA    Yes, I couldn't get you, that's right, what I needed was your phone number.'
Joe    'l gave it to you twice, to your office not to you.'
APA    'Yes that's the reason for the delay, we like to have the phone number of the person before we process the application.'
Joe    'Yes of course, I sent it to you by mail too.'
APA    'So we got your letter but there was no phone number.'
Joe     'Wasn't there?'
APA    'That's OK, it's all fixed up now, it'll ... you should receive that in the next few days.'
Joe    'Oh good.'
APA    'We just send them all out at once, so yeah, it's great.
Joe    'I can expect it this ...?'
APA    'You can expect it in the next two days. Friday at the latest.'
Joe    'OK.'
APA     It's all being processed now, we've got a bunch going out this week.'
Joe    'So I should have no problem?'
APA    "No, no problem. You know the situation, the fees and all that?'
Joe    'You have received my references, I hope?'
APA    'I believe so, they must be on file if you are getting the application sent out to you it must be on file.'
Joe    'On your file ...'
APA    "Yeah, that's great and once you've sent back the form and you've ... and your first quarterly fee or annual fee whatever you prefer then we'll ... anyway we can help you, first we'll put you on our computer which means people will get recommendations to you and any other way we can help you with business or anything like that.'
Joe    'Than you and your fee is one hundred and ninety-five dollars?'
APA    'One hundred and ninety-five dollars per year.'
Joe    'So I'll hear ...'
APA    'So I hope to meet you soon.'

ST asked for the phone number, having already rung that number to find out what it was. Asked Joe's name after being told. Asked again for the phone number notwithstanding it was on the application already filed. And seemed incredibly uninformed about his own business. It's interesting to note too, that 'bunches' of applications are sent out all at once (conveyor-belt psychics) and the APA's reference to their dispatch, 'It's great.'

There are contradictions; a suspicion that the APA is not the epitome of business efficiency; an indication that the proprietor may suffer from amnesia, and some pretty strong evidence that having psychic abilities is not a prerequisite for membership of that association. Furthermore, the APA is prepared and willing (by computer listing their members) to recommend them to clients and to promote their business activities. In effect, the APA is merely acting as a well paid listing agency by recommending anybody as a professional psychic.

Two more weeks went by and still no sign of an application form. Just what sort of a business are these people running? If I had a business where 'bunches' of applications were being processed at one hundred and ninety-five dollars a time I'd be personally delivering the application forms with one hand and holding out the other for the cash.

In the absence of the elusive application form, Joe wrote a letter addressed to Simon Turnbull at the APA expressing his general disappointment, and drawing attention to the unanswered letters and the unfulfilled assurances given over the phone. He also included a photocopy of a genuine diploma certifying that he had completed an approved counseling course, which should at least give him a head start over other applicants.

Meanwhile in the deep south on Sunday June 19, Adam Joseph and Kathy Butler (the then President and Secretary respectively of the Victorian branch of Australian Skeptics Inc.) interviewed Simon Turnbull on 3RRR's The Liar's Club, and while they rightly pursued the question of membership of the APA, when Kathy asked whether a fake psychic could infiltrate their ranks she could have inadvertently alerted Simon Turnbull to the fact that someone was currently making a concerted effort to do exactly that.

Fortunately for the project, Simon did not detect this to be the case: neither his 'psychic ability' nor his intuition alerted him.

During the interview some corroborative information was elicited regarding the APA, together with some revealing statements from ST.

There are two grades of membership of the APA, professional and associate. According to ST, the former number between one hundred and fifty and two hundred (odd he doesn't know exactly) with an annual fee of one hundred and ninety-five dollar; the latter number nine hundred with a fee of forty-five dollars per annum and are considered to be 'in training', explained as 'developing one's intuition.' This would put the APA's annual income from fees alone at between sixty-three thousand and seventy thousand five hundred dollars per annum depending on which figures one uses. I say alone, as both Simon Turnbull and Shabnam Ramzam also do paid readings. Forty dollars was the fee quoted by Shabnam Ramzam during the 11 AM interview although it will be later shown to be sixty dollars). A flyer put out by the APA advertising their weekly psychic fair promotes a 'sample reading' at twenty dollars for fifteen minutes, with thirty to sixty minute readings available. When one considers a combined income from membership fees and readings, it favourably compares with that of solicitors and medical practitioners who spend years studying for their qualifications before they are allowed to practise.

Asked how he differentiates between a genuine applicant and a fake, ST responded by saying that prospective applicants must have been trained by other psychics who have been running classes for ten years or more—not any old classes. Further, applicants must have three letters of referral from clients testifying to their accuracy. In response to the question 'how do you tell a fake psychic from a real one?' ST reiterated the APA s requirement of three referrals, adding that they make it hard by charging one hundred and ninety-five dollars (how that would deter someone earning that much in less than half a day I'm not sure). He also said that by ringing the APA you could be sure that they would only recommend a 'real psychic.' It was only the overseas imports asking thousands of dollars in fees to remove curses and for their amulets who were fakes. (So it's the size of the fee which determines whether one is a fake or not).

Many successful merchandising companies have been built on the principle of small profits—large turnover, although with psychics' fees ranging from forty to one hundred dollars for less than a one hour consultation, I would hesitate to classify them as low income earners, particularly as with their minimal overheads and cash transactions, the opportunity exists to write one's own tax ticket.

Taxed on his ability as a psychic, ST fell back on the old excuse—negativity—controlled testing just doesn't work when there are negative feelings around.

On the subject of negativity, Kathy Butler made reference to the biased findings of parapsychologists Targ and Puthoff, to which ST responded with the accusation that CSICOP (Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal) was also guilty of deception in connection with the 'Mars Effect' postulated by Michel Gauquelin. He added that if people wished to know more about this issue they could ring 190 2 63666 (at three dollars per minute) for the 'proof'. (For those readers not familiar with Gauquelin, and who prefer fact to fiction, a resume of the 'Mars Effect' and the involvement of CSICOP, can be found in the Skeptic, Vol.14, No. 4, p.30, under the heading 'The Mars Effect Controversy'.)

Both Adam and Kathy were surprised at Simon Turnbull's claim that there are many doctors, lawyers, psychologists and psychiatrists who are also psychics and members of the APA. However, all the above are presumably qualified in one profession or another** to give advice, but the added mystique of being 'psychic' probably enhances their standing in the eyes of gullible clients. As far as I am aware, while the NSW Psychologists Act prevent persons from falsely claiming to be psychologists, it does not prevent one from holding to be a psycho-therapist or counsellor.

The 1987 Fair Trading Act however, specifically states that 'A person shall not, in trade or commerce, engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive', This would probably enable action to be taken against anyone regardless of their appellation if, in a court of law, they were unable to substantiate their claim of possessing the necessary qualifications (psychic or otherwise) to practise.

Meanwhile, back on the job, in the absence of any communication from the APA, Joe wrote again, this time by certified mail together with an SAE, suggesting that maybe the mail had gone astray. He also asked, should for any reason accreditation now be denied, that his testimonials be returned.

By return mail, Joe received an APA Membership Application together with a flyer advertising the APA's regular Saturday Psychic Fair, and a form letter (with notations appended) which in part said that an application form had been previously sent, that Joe's testimonials were on file and most importantly,

This means of course that there could be a disparity between the actual number of financial members and the total number of members claimed by Simon Turnbull. Further, if one chooses not to pay their dues, does not resign, and is still free to claim accreditation, does Simon have the power to excommunicate?! The second point is the APA's definition of .psychic' which, according to the wording on their flyer appears to include tarot readers and palmists in addition to clairvoyants.

At 11.45 pm two weeks later, Joe received a phone call from Simon Turnbull asking for an additional five dollars fee and how he would like to be recommended to clients-as a clairvoyant, psychic, card reader or what have you. Joe's membership card was on its way and his name and telephone number would now be given to potential clients. By the end of the month nothing had materialised and Joe wrote to the APA again:

'Further to our telephone conversation of August lst in which you asked for an additional five dollars professional membership fee on receipt of which you would forward my membership card. The money was sent immediately, and two weeks later I have still not received my card. In addition, I have asked on at least three occasions for a copy of the APA's by-laws, these too have not been received. With respect, I am not impressed with the service you have provided thus far, (three and one half months to process my application) and sincerely hope that this is not indicative of the way you normally carry on your business.'

Fifteen weeks and two days after Joe's first letter and application to become a professional member of the APA, his membership card duly arrived and 'Just anyone Joe' (a non-psychic and without any pretentions of being one) became accredited to that association and, with their endorsement, will be publicised and recommended as accurate and reputable, to advise the public 'psychically', with tarot cards, palm reading, or any other unproven and invalidated method on virtually all and any matters. Along with the membership card were copies of the Articles of Association and the APA's Code of Ethics. The former were very basic, the concluding sentence however spoke volumes :

It can be deduced from the foregoing, that my statements on the 11 AM show were substantially correct: that psychics have no scientifically validated credentials (or any credentials for that matter); that the appellation 'psychic' can be freely adopted by anyone; and that to become a member of the Australian Psychic's Association one needs only to pay a fee. The anecdotal testimonies (allegedly) required by the APA are not legitimate qualifications, are worthless, and in any case appear to be of secondary consideration if at all.

The association cannot be seen to be acting in a responsible manner, in so far as it is perceived by the public to have legitimised the claimed psychic abilities of its professional membership by accreditation, when in fact no verification of those claims is available or has been sought. Further, the incredible laxity in dealing with prospective members reflects badly on the business acumen and efficiency of the APA's proprietors. One can only conclude therefore, that an association whose title implies that its members are endowed with expertise in one field or another, is, or at least should be, morally and ethically bound to ensure that applicants for membership are in fact qualified and can legitimately substantiate their claims. Failing that, no more credence can be given to that association than those unaccredited institutions who sell mail order degrees.

If Operation Termite is evidence of the ease whereby anyone who chooses to hang up a shingle as a psychic consultant or clairvoyant can obtain accreditation and the recommendation of a seemingly reputable association, it casts more than a shadow of doubt over the probity of the Australian Psychic's Association and its members. Trusting that this time I had the facts right, a draft copy of my article on the APA was sent to Simon Turnbull by mental telepathy prior to publishing, to give him the opportunity to comment. I did not hold my
breath.

Following the exposure of their laxity, the APA subsequently decided, in an effort to exclude non-psychic applicants from their association, to require a statutory declaration from them to the effect that they were psychic. However, any person signing a statutory declaration only attests to 'believing' what they say to be true. What one believes to be true, and what is in fact true, are two entirely different things.

* 'The Australian Psychic's Association' has been spelt in accordance with the way it appears on the association's letterhead and flyer. As it stands, someone is in fact claiming to be The Australian Psychic and the owner of the Association. This would make the APA a one man band. If the name is officially registered as it appears on the APA's stationery, can there be other legitimate members of that association?

** I wrote to the Australian Medical Association and the New South Wales law Society, to see whether they condone some of their members practising mumbo-jumbo. In a written response Dr W. Coote, the Secretary General of the AMA, reiterated the AMA's long standing policy:

'The AMA does not recognise any exclusive dogma such as homoeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic or naturopathy or any other practices which are not based on sound scientific principles ... the AMA is aware that some medical practitioners do offer services based upon various unorthodox, non-scientific "disciplines" (but that) there is currently a move in the AMA to re-examine AMA action based on the above quoted resolution ... by re-examining circumstances under which Medicare benefits are payable for unorthodox practice and to examine what powers State medical boards may have in regard to registered medical practitioners who practise modalities not generally regarded by the medical profession as legitimate.'