The ongoing pandemic has changed life as we know it, and with no end in sight, people are seeking answers from unconventional sources.
PsychicWorld reported in June that since the lockdown began, there were 669,000 Google searches for "psychic advice" and searches for "psychic predictions coronavirus" increased by 95% over a 90-day period.
The website surveyed the things people are seeking psychic help for during the pandemic, and they found that 80% were asking to see their future, 74% were seeking love advice, and 67% were seeking job advice.
However, this does not give an insight into how this differs from the experience of psychics before the pandemic.
Working over video chat and phone, VT interviewed two psychics, Daniela Birch and Justine Ayling, both of whom experienced the reported surge in business, and we asked them how this compared to psychic work before COVID-19.
Justine Ayling said she received so many requests she turned down work.
Meanwhile, Daniela Birch said that those who had previously been closed off to her work became less frightened of it.
She said: "People are way more open to my advice. While in the past, I have felt people judged me and feared my gifts."
The two women noticed a difference in the type of requests they've received, with both noting a move towards mediumship - channeling communication between the dead and the living.
Birch said: "I am known as a relationship/soul mate specialist, but I would say the mediumship side has been stronger. My clients are wanting reassurance from their loved ones on the other side."
This was also the case for Ayling, who said: "I've seen a bit of an increase in people wanting to connect with spirit, partly for guidance but mainly for comfort.
"People realized that the cards were not going to tell them anything they didn't already know, lockdown/virus/social distancing wasn't going away anytime soon."
Clinical psychologist Dina Hassan said people are choosing mediumship because the pandemic has taught them that so many things are out of their hands.
She said: "Right now, it seems that every time you come to plan for the future, something bad happens, and this leaves you believing little in your ability to plan for what's to come."
The psychics said this has been a difficult time for them too, with Birch revealing that there have been days when her psychic channels have been blocked as she is "highly sensitive to energy."
She said: "Many psychics, including me, are empaths, and we feel the world's pain.
"I have had so many clients in pain, and fear of their future. Some have miscarried, lost loved ones, their business has dried up financially, and everyone is wanting reassurance from me."
One of the downsides of having so many people come to her for advice is that she has had days where she too has wanted comfort and has had to learn how to ask for it herself.
Ayling said that while she hasn't necessarily had trouble while working with clients, she has also tapped into the negative feelings of others.
She said: "I've had to put a lot of white light protection around myself during lockdown. I meditated, used healing crystals, and used mindfulness to keep the darkness of the time at bay."
An increased number of male clients have contacted Birch during the pandemic, which is an interesting shift from Pew Research Center's finding that women are typically twice as likely to visit psychics.
She said: "I am receiving a lot more men lately who want advice I do also offer intuitive mentoring and working on business coaching and not only one-off readings and guidance."
Ayling said that one of the reasons people have sought out mediumship is because they have lost loved ones of the virus and wanted confirmation that they were still around.
"They also wanted the chance to say their goodbyes," she said.
Hassan said that seeking out psychics is a way of supplementing a need with hard evidence - evidence which, unfortunately, does not exist during this time.
She said: "It will be someone who really got hit hard by COVID. Who is in learned helpless mode, and that can be anyone because the isolation and distancing is affecting everyone, even therapists."
If you want to seek out psychic advice, Birch and Ayling advise consulting psychics with good reputations and taking recommendations where possible.
Birch said: "See what they specialize in. Really be crystal clear as to what you want support with."
Ayling added: "Have a completely open mind and be clear at the start what you are looking for."
But while psychics may comfort some during the pandemic, Hassan said that a good alternative is mindfulness.
"It's not a good thing to be stuck in the future or the past," she said. "Being mindful is about being aware of the here and now and celebrating your small successes, which, ultimately, could help you feel better about the future."