Fake Healers, Psychics And Shamans, Etc. - When Is It Spiritual Abuse?
In recent months, I’ve experienced an increase in people reaching out because of spiritual abuse. This type of coercive manipulation is often perpetuated by so-called healers, shady psychics and false shamans who prey on people when they are most vulnerable.
I suspect the rise is multifaceted; with the state of the world, the increased uncertainty leads to a desire to find all the answers outside of ourselves. We turn to those who can gaze into the crystal ball and tell us everything is going to be fine, and oftentimes we want to hand that responsibility to someone else, especially when we are overwhelmed by negativity.
That’s when we happen upon the mystical person who promises you all the good things, yet with each session, the insight is just out of reach and only available after the next appointment or the next course, each at increasing cost; the carrot ever dangled and out of reach.
What might have begun as genuinely helpful becomes a pattern of created co-dependency and growing disconnection from your own inner guidance. Big red flags in my world, and it gets me pretty activated (read - pissed!) to see people taken advantage of in this way.
If any part of this touches your story, I want to offer a clear way to evaluate your experience with any type of spiritual healer or leader. Your body and your intuition are the truest witnesses, even in times of feeling disconnected (which is often one of the predatory points). Both will tell you, maybe in a whisper, whether the work is bringing you clarity or disconnecting you more from your true Self.
Start with how you feel after sessions
Do you leave with clarity and insight or is there a lingering fog and confusion?
Does your system feel refreshed and balanced or drained for a long stretch?
Emotions can and do arise after deep work, yet even in the tenderness, there should be a sense of constructive processing.
If you find yourself looping in turmoil without traction and are feeling a desire to cling to your practitioner, your body and Soul are asking for a different kind of care.
Observe the relationship dynamic
There should be mutual respect as the foundation. A trustworthy healer honours your intuition and agency, and will ask probing (sometimes tough) questions to help you evaluate whether you’re connected to your intuition or whether fear is keeping you in place. They encourage your capacity rather than positioning themselves as the only authority on… everything.
Ask yourself plainly:
Does this person empower you or place themselves above you?
Do they imply they alone hold a direct line to the divine while you are a “mere mortal who could never understand”? (and yes, those are actual words I’ve heard a “spiritual teacher” use!).
Transparency matters. Clean methods and plain language build trust.
Secrecy and mystique erode it. Someone who claims to have ALL the answers about everything seems pretty suspicious in my books.
Notice integration over time
Real change is made in small and incremental shifts; you may be wanting the BIG IMMEDIATE TRANSFORMATION (like, who doesn’t, right?), but the reality of being human is that most of the positive shifts are more subtle, gently weaving into daily life as you steadily learn to regulate your nervous system so that you feel more resourced, more able to meet what happens in life - even if it’s bonkers.
If you are in constant upheaval, being called to constantly open and dive into traumatic life events, always unravelling and needing them to put you back together, the work may be creating a fresh charge instead of change.
Dependence is a signal.
Be honest about money and ethics; they have clear and transparent pricing aligned with value. Service places your wellbeing before sales. Scarcity tactics, serial upsells, and promises of total transformation, if and only if you buy the next (more expensive) level, are red flags.
How can I support repair?
A Professional Master Clearing can help you release what is not yours. In my work, that often includes disconnecting cords, dissolving psychic attack, and clearing what some describe as black magic. The intention is simple. Remove dark, binding elements so your field can settle, your system can breathe, and your clarity can return.
A SoulPoint Journey meets you once the noise has lifted. It is a guided reconnection to your own inner guidance system. We listen for the thread of truth inside you, map your next right steps, and restore the inner relationship that abuse tries to fracture. The work is practical and sacred. It brings you back to yourself so integration can unfold in daily life.
Here are four questions to ask yourself after any session:
Do I feel clearer or more confused?
Lighter or more depleted?
More capable or more dependent?
Expanding in my life or quietly constricting?
If you are feeling empowered, supported, and progressively lighter, that is a good sign.
If you are feeling drained, fearful, or as if you cannot find yourself, or are not “allowed” to move forward or make decisions without them, it may be time to reassess and choose again. Often what dims your light is not yours, even if it’s connected to something you said yes to. Your soul is asking you to return you to your own rhythm.
If you feel the pull to clear the bindings and re-establish your inner guidance, a Professional Master Clearing™ or a SoulPoint Journey can support you with your healing.
