Financial Therapy

MoneyGeek consults me for their comprehensive article How Financial Therapy Can Lead to a Brighter Financial Future.

Read my contribution below:

What do you think should be the biggest consideration for an individual when it comes to financial therapy?

If you are caught in a cycle of debt or feel unable to meet your financial goals and can't quite figure out why, financial therapy can be an effective option for finding lasting change. Although it might also be important to seek a financial advisor, financial therapy is different. Financial therapy addresses the underlying issues which make it challenging to cope with financial stress. It is important to seek a licensed mental health professional who has training in modalities that address the maladaptive thinking and unhealthy behavioral patterns which lead to chronic financial distress.

What can I expect when getting financial therapy?

Financial therapy begins with discussing your money problems honestly and openly, which rarely happens within other contexts in our society. Americans feel unable to candidly address financial difficulties with family or friends. While there are pragmatic techniques you can apply to entrenched money problems, financial therapy will also uncover areas of shame and illogical thinking which keep people stuck in unhealthy habits even when they know what they should be doing differently. Common examples include compulsive spending, which may be rooted in an attempt to fulfill emotional needs, and avoidance of addressing debt, which is typically linked to anxiety. A financial therapist can not only get you on track with a clear plan for moving forward but also give you the self-knowledge, support and effective tools that it will take to be successful with that plan.