I am a medium (talks to ghosts) but I do not physically see the ghosts. In my understanding physically seeing the ghosts like she does is pretty rare. Also hearing ghosts as if the voices were not your own and separate from yourself is pretty rare. Also, you can communicate with spirits telepathically so you do not have to stand there talking out loud to them - but some might anyway just because it is more natural. But the actual plot lines are pretty exaggerated in that ghosts don't do a lot of what they do on the show (breaking lights, putting messages on computers, etc). Also, in my experience, which may not be common, ghosts are pretty easy to cross over. I was actually very surprised. I even had a stubborn one cross over with very little effort. So I guess much of it isn't true although it is based on a real person and psychics supposedly consult for the show. Just that what seems typical on the show is actually quite rare.