Professional healers sometimes encounter non-practitioners who falsely claim their skill set.

For example, a friend or bartender might identify as an “amateur psychologist, but a lot less expensive.” Undeterred by this trope, I confess to embracing an amateur musical therapy role for the past three years. I played accordion at a memory unit where my father resided (the Elder Ashram in Oakland). Residents sometimes considered me a hired hand, although I received no financial recompense.