No cigar

I have heard about this, but never experienced it.  A lady from the northeast had come to Texas and boarded a room in a house.  She told the family that she knew how to "read" people.  The family believed her and the credentials she said she had.  Each one of the family and some of her extended family decided to talk to her.  They would tell her things and she would give a psychological evaluation of why they did what they did.

The family said she was amazing, that she had helped them so much, and that talking with her was life changing.  I didn't want to, but I relented to go see her to keep peace.  She showed her true colors toward me right away.  She denigrated someone who was well known in her own field and in my book.  As she continued talking with the person I was with, I could see that she was "reading" based on what was told to her, and giving a few well memorized root causes for certain behaviors.  She went out of her way not to use psychological jargon (perhaps she was limited in how much jargon she actually knew).  She lead the entire way, not allowing for a person to go off task without her bringing the person back to the topic she wanted to discuss.

I just as easily could have been at a palm reader's session or a tarot card reading.  She kept insisting that she was not conducting a counseling session (reminding me of the Shakespearean quote about protesting too much).  Although I engaged her on a casual conversational level, she tried to direct me into her questioning of my intentions or telling me what I was thinking because she could read me.  Although she read the body language correctly, she provided no motivation for the thoughts.  She wanted me to provide that.  I was not there to engage her in anything but casual conversation, so she failed at her attempts.

I chalk this up to one of life's experiences, interesting, but no cigar.