Richardson said she works with her clients to communicate with spirits and find answers to questions about their lives they've been struggling with.

Most of her clients are women who've raised their children and suddenly discovered that they don't really know who they are, she said.

She said she asks her clients to bring her a list of questions they want answers to, with one particular one to use as a jumping-off point.

The results, she said, can be moving.

"I've had grown men sit down in that chair and cry their eyes out," Richardson said. "To me, that's a very humbling experience."

Her goal in her practice is to help people identify and fix problems they haven't seen or haven't been willing to see.

"They all come back until they get their lessons right," she said. "If they don't get the lesson they're going to repeat it."

Her office is full of the tools of her practice -- crystals of quartz and labradorite; a statue of Quan-Yin, the only female Buddha; the sage she burns to cleanse the room before doing a reading.

She's written a book on automatic writing, and will be teaching a class on the subject in February.

Her whole life has been devoted to studying and developing her abilities, she said. The life of Jesus, and the Egyptians have been her inspiration.

Already a certified hypnotist, Richardson said her goal is to become a certified

hypnotherapist.

Richardson said anyone can do what she does, if they just open up and let themselves

 become quiet enough to hear God.

"We all have it, [the question is] do we want to develop it," she said.