How Financial Therapy Can Help You

Blog 3 of 3 in the Introduction to Financial Therapy blog series.

This brief blog series will illustrate how the growing field of Financial Psychology can revolutionize people’s turbulent relationships with money. Through understanding the roots and influence of their personal financial psychology, individuals find themselves able to discard the inherited programming that drives their financial decisions, and that no longer serves them.

The complete list of blogs in this series are at the bottom of this article.

Modern American culture projects a faulty reality of wellbeing and status largely based on large amounts of consumer debt and fueled by immediate reward. This external view is far from the truth. People in high-earning jobs often feel pressured to maintain the status quo or keep up with friends of a similar income level. They may indulge in overspending based on expected continued high-income, estimated bonuses, and anticipated promotions. Those unable to keep up with associates’ financial successes may be distressed by jealousy, shame, and low self-worth. The truth is that all of these related negative emotions have led to a taboo around personal conversations about money. While experiencing financial anxiety, depression, or stress—or even excitement over a big raise and promotion—any disclosure of such feelings may feel unsafe, exacerbating the discomfort. So, instead, as a society we tend to bottle up any confessions about personal finances, and carry on with our silent struggle to mitigate our stress.

There is a Financial Solution

As highlighted in the previous blog, Why the world is turning to Financial Therapy, it has become more and more obvious that the solution to personal finances doesn’t merely require education and information regarding the basics of financial management. Although certainly helpful, knowing what to do does not always lead to effective decisions and execution. It is imperative that individuals with financially dysfunctional behaviors work toward a comprehensive alteration of their thoughts, feelings, and habits with money. These habits and feelings typically arise in childhood and early adulthood when initial financial blueprints are established by experiences and role models.

As adults, we find we may have unconsciously adopted problematic financial habits, creating roadblocks to our own personal success. For example, your parents may have managed money perfectly, but may not have shared the details with you—leaving you both ill-equipped to deal with adult life and resentful of their inattention to this crucial skill. On the other hand, they may have had intense arguments about money, leaving you uncertain about how to manage finances and fearful of a topic that appeared to create friction. Every money story is unique, made of individual experiences that require awareness and discernment in order to right-size and balance one’s relationship with money.

This is where the financial therapist comes in. A trained and experienced professional can provide a safe haven, with proven tools to help clients navigate the maze of their own money stories. Through careful work with an empathetic specialist, a financially stressed individual is empowered to identify and overcome economic roadblocks. Relief from constant pressure around money opens up new possibilities for individuals to expand their life experiences, create and maintain better personal relationships with their partners, and rid themselves of the shame and guilt too often associated with finances.