What you have described as the negative is what I refer to as the Anna Riva School of Reading... her book "Black & White Magick" reveals a big glimpse into how the Readings deliberately find issues and then prescribe this or that spell/products needed for addressing and overcoming the problem; her entire focus is moving products and generating an added cash flow to her store... then again her company is still one of the best known resources for oils, candles, spells going when it comes to the "real" witchipoo shops out there (vs. New Age crap)... you can tell just by walking through the door and taking in a deep sniff, the Anna Riva products are that easy to recognize.
Granted, I have a vest bias here, but I believe the best qualified folk for doing Readings at the professional level are those Mentalists who not only know both sides of the "game" but who likewise have at least a foundation level of counseling background/training & certification. Those that host this resume serve as educated watch-dogs within both, the community at large as well as the Psychic element within a given region. We can offer feedback to law enforcement as well as the proverbial grape vine when it comes to possible predators and even dangerous cult situations. Because we fit into that world the investigative side to what we do is obfuscated, allowing us to gain the trust of suspects and/or their associates in order to prove out things one way or the other.
The other reason I defend this particular idea is that the Mentalist is more likely to recognize those who have genuine mental/emotional issues that require much more than a Tarot Card Reading. We have a unique position of authority through which we are able to encourage the sitter to seek out a professional in the mental health industry and not just rely on us. I've even established a solid working rapport with area counselors so I can give people their cards and make a direct referral and in some instances, that gesture is reciprocated.
Why would a professional in Mental Health refer a client to a Psychic?
In a word, PLACEBO
As I've pointed out before, there are those situations in which the patron's background (religion, culture, etc.) demands a different course of action that incorporates those deeper beliefs & phobias into the "cure". The therapist cannot present such alternatives but they can place their patron into the hands of someone that is "in the know" that can work with them in ways that aid the patron in "growing up" so to speak.
There's much more to it but you should get the gist with what I'm saying.
Yes, there are predators and con-artists well seeded in the Psychic community but they are a minority more than they are a standard. They stick out like a sore thumb because they are driven by their ego; either to hold an iron hand over a group or segment of the population or in contrast, to gain public notoriety a.k.a. fortune & fame (can you say Sylvia Brown?) The "true" Psychics however, are quiet private in how they live their lives and most accept only nominal payment and typically it's by donation not a set price... at that, most will accept barter over cash in that they really aren't in it as a matter of vocation but as I've pointed out previously, it's a "Calling" to them.
The very arguments people use against Psychics can be applied to similar work done by the Clergy as well as the so-called Mental Health professionals. The only difference is that these two elements have a piece of paper that say's they know what they're doing and can therefore steal from the public and control the lives of others via legal veneer. Humans being human, anything can be (and will be) corrupted when the individual is lead along the primrose path under the lie of "professionalism" and "business"... a drive invented for the sake of feeding both, ego and bank account.
