Financial Therapy Services: A Comprehensive Guide to Healing Your Relationship with Money
Money affects nearly every aspect of our lives, yet many of us struggle with complex emotions around finances that go far beyond simple budgeting or investment decisions. If you find yourself experiencing anxiety when checking your bank account, avoiding financial conversations with your partner, or feeling trapped in cycles of financial stress despite your best efforts, you're not alone.
Financial therapy offers a transformative approach by addressing both the educational aspects of money management and the deeply personal emotional relationship we each have with money. This comprehensive guide explores how financial therapy works, who can benefit from it, and how this unique therapeutic approach can help you create a healthier relationship with money.
What is Financial Therapy?
Financial therapy is a specialized approach that bridges the gap between emotional well-being and financial management. Unlike traditional financial planning that focuses primarily on investment strategies and retirement plans, financial therapy recognizes that our relationship with money is deeply emotional and often rooted in our earliest experiences.
At its core, financial therapy examines how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around money impact our financial decision-making and overall well-being. This integrative approach combines therapeutic techniques with financial education to help individuals, couples, and families develop healthier relationships with money.
As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in financial therapy, I help clients recognize and transform unconscious patterns that may be sabotaging their financial well-being. Together, we explore the emotional foundations of your money behaviors while developing practical strategies for financial wellness.
The Evolution of Financial Therapy as a Field
Financial therapy is a relatively new field that has emerged from the intersection of financial planning and psychology. The Financial Therapy Association, established to advance this innovative approach, defines it as a process that helps people think, feel, and behave differently with money.
The study of financial psychology has revealed that our financial behaviors are deeply influenced by psychological factors, including our upbringing, personality traits, and cognitive biases. Behavioral finance, a related discipline, examines how psychological influences and biases affect financial behaviors and market outcomes.
Financial professionals increasingly recognize that technical knowledge alone isn't enough to help clients achieve financial well-being. By integrating insights from psychology and human behavior with financial expertise, financial therapists can address the complex emotional aspects of money management that traditional financial planning may overlook.
How Your Emotions Impact Your Financial Decisions
Our financial behaviors rarely exist in isolation from our emotional lives. Consider these common patterns:
Fear-based financial avoidance: Avoiding looking at bank statements, postponing tax preparation, or ignoring retirement planning due to anxiety
Emotional spending: Using shopping as a way to cope with stress, sadness, or other difficult emotions
Financial perfectionism: Setting unrealistic financial standards that lead to chronic stress and self-criticism
Money conflicts: Experiencing recurring arguments about finances with your partner despite attempts to resolve them
Financial imposter syndrome: Feeling undeserving of financial success or constantly fearing financial failure despite evidence to the contrary
Scarcity mindset: Experiencing persistent worry about not having enough money regardless of your actual financial situation
These patterns often have deep psychological roots connected to our earliest experiences with money, family messages about wealth, and core beliefs about self-worth. Financial therapy helps uncover these connections and create more conscious, aligned financial behaviors.
The Unique Approach of Financial Therapy
Financial therapy differs significantly from both traditional financial planning and conventional therapy. Here's what makes this approach distinct:
Integration of Financial and Emotional Wellbeing
Rather than treating money matters and emotional health as separate domains, financial therapy recognizes their deep interconnection. This holistic perspective allows us to address the complete picture of your financial wellness:
How childhood experiences shape current money behaviors
The impact of financial trauma on decision-making
Ways that money dynamics affect relationships
Connections between financial avoidance and anxiety
How core beliefs about self-worth influence financial decisions
Beyond Basic Financial Literacy
While understanding financial concepts is important, financial therapy goes deeper by addressing the psychological barriers that prevent this knowledge from translating into action. Many clients already know they "should" budget, save, or invest, but find themselves unable to follow through despite this knowledge.
By examining the emotional obstacles standing in the way of financial change, financial therapy helps bridge the gap between financial knowledge and actual behavior change. Financial literacy alone is insufficient when psychological factors impede implementation.
A Safe Space for Financial Exploration
Money remains one of society's last taboos. Many people feel more comfortable discussing intimate relationship details than sharing their financial realities. Financial therapy provides a judgment-free environment to explore money matters without shame or criticism.
This safe space allows you to examine your complete financial story—including fears, regrets, and aspirations—with compassionate guidance rather than judgment.
Signs You Might Benefit from Financial Therapy
Financial therapy can be beneficial for anyone seeking to improve their relationship with money, but certain situations may particularly indicate its relevance:
Individual Signs
Experiencing intense anxiety when dealing with financial matters
Repeatedly making the same financial mistakes despite knowing better
Feeling ashamed or guilty about your financial situation
Using money in ways that conflict with your stated values
Finding yourself stuck in cycles of overspending or extreme frugality
Avoiding financial responsibilities like paying bills or checking accounts
Experiencing financial imposter syndrome despite objective success
Relationship Signs
Having the same money arguments repeatedly with your partner
Hiding purchases or financial decisions from your partner
Feeling resentful about financial imbalances in your relationship
Struggling to merge financial approaches with your partner
Using money as a form of control or punishment in relationships
Finding it difficult to discuss financial matters openly with family members
Professional and Business Signs
Experiencing significant anxiety around setting rates or negotiating compensation
Undercharging for your services despite evidence of their value
Feeling uncomfortable with financial success in your business
Procrastinating on financial aspects of your business management
Making business decisions from a place of financial fear rather than strategy
Struggling with financial boundaries in professional relationships
Many of these signs are particularly common among entrepreneurs, high-achievers, and individuals who have experienced significant financial changes or trauma in their lives.
Financial Therapy as a Professional Field
The field of financial therapy has developed as professionals recognized the need to address both financial education and emotional well-being. While I don't offer training programs for professionals, it's helpful to understand how this field has evolved to better appreciate the service I provide.
The Education Behind Financial Therapy
While I don't offer professional training programs, my approach to financial therapy is informed by extensive education in both therapeutic techniques and financial psychology. The field combines:
Core principles of financial psychology
Applied behavioral finance concepts
Integration of financial education with therapeutic techniques
Ethics in financial therapy practice
Practical applications for working with clients
This educational foundation allows me to provide comprehensive support for your financial and emotional well-being.
A Specialized Therapeutic Approach
My work as a financial therapist is distinct from that of a certified financial planner. Instead of creating investment portfolios or detailed retirement plans, I focus on:
Helping you understand your emotional relationship with money
Processing financial traumas that may be affecting your current behaviors
Providing financial education that addresses psychological barriers
Developing healthier patterns of thinking and behaving around money
Building financial communication skills for improved relationships
This specialized approach addresses the emotional roots of financial challenges while providing practical education about healthy financial behaviors.
My Approach to Financial Therapy
My financial therapy practice is grounded in my training as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, combined with specialized knowledge of how psychological factors influence our relationship with money:
Therapeutic Foundation
My approach to financial therapy is built on:
Training as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Specialized education in financial psychology
Certification as a Master ART Practitioner
Training in Brainspotting techniques
Ongoing professional development in trauma treatment
This therapeutic foundation allows me to address the emotional aspects of money management effectively, helping clients overcome barriers to financial wellness.
Focus on Emotional and Educational Support
Unlike financial planners who create investment strategies, my work focuses on:
Providing financial education that addresses psychological barriers
Helping you understand your emotional relationship with money
Processing financial traumas that may be affecting your current behaviors
Developing healthier patterns of thinking and behaving around money
Building financial communication skills for improved relationships
This specialized approach creates lasting change by addressing both the emotional roots of financial challenges and providing practical education about healthy financial behaviors.
Personalized Treatment Approach
My work with each client is highly individualized, taking into account:
Your unique financial history and experiences
Specific challenges you're currently facing
Your personal values and goals
Relationship dynamics that may affect financial behaviors
Traumatic experiences that might impact your relationship with money
This personalized approach ensures that our work together directly addresses your specific needs rather than applying a one-size-fits-all solution.
Financial Therapy Techniques and Approaches
As a financial therapist, I integrate various therapeutic modalities to address both the emotional and practical dimensions of financial wellness:
Specialized Therapeutic Approaches
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
As a Certified Master ART Practitioner, I offer this innovative approach that can be particularly effective for addressing financial trauma. ART uses eye movements similar to REM sleep to help the brain process distressing memories differently, reducing their emotional impact. This can be remarkably effective for:
Processing financial trauma such as bankruptcy, foreclosure, or sudden financial loss
Reducing the emotional charge around money memories from childhood
Alleviating financial anxiety that feels physically overwhelming
Creating new, more empowering internal images related to financial confidence
Brainspotting
Brainspotting is a powerful therapeutic technique that identifies and processes deep neural sources of emotional distress. In financial therapy, brainspotting can help:
Locate and process subconscious beliefs about money that drive problematic behaviors
Release emotional blocks that prevent financial progress
Access inner resources for financial confidence and decision-making
Process financial trauma stored in the body and nervous system
Practical Financial Therapy Interventions
Alongside these specialized approaches, financial therapy incorporates practical interventions that bridge emotional insight with behavioral change:
Financial genograms: Mapping your family's money history to identify inherited patterns
Values clarification: Aligning financial choices with your core personal values
Money scripts exploration: Identifying and transforming limiting money beliefs
Financial communication tools: Developing healthier ways to discuss money in relationships
Mindfulness practices: Building awareness around emotional spending triggers
Financial boundary setting: Creating healthy financial boundaries with family, friends, and work
These techniques are customized to your specific situation and integrated into a personalized treatment plan designed to address your unique financial psychology.
Who Can Benefit from Financial Therapy?
Financial therapy can benefit people from all walks of life and financial situations. Here are some of the common client profiles who often find financial therapy particularly transformative:
Individuals Navigating Financial Transitions
Major life changes often trigger financial stress and require adjustments to both practical money management and emotional relationships with finances:
Career transitions or job loss
Divorce or relationship changes
Inheritance or sudden wealth
Retirement planning and adjustment
Recovery from financial setbacks
Significant income increases
Financial therapy provides support during these transitions, helping you navigate both the practical aspects and the emotional implications of financial change.
Couples with Financial Conflicts
Money consistently ranks among the top reasons for relationship conflict. Couples seeking financial therapy often:
Have different money values or spending styles
Struggle with financial power imbalances
Experience trust issues related to finances
Need support merging financial lives
Want to develop healthier communication around money
Are blending families with different financial backgrounds
Financial therapy helps couples develop a shared language and approach to money that honors both individuals' needs while building financial partnership.
Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
The complex relationship between personal identity and business finances creates unique challenges for entrepreneurs:
Setting appropriate rates and valuing their work
Managing irregular income streams
Navigating financial risk and uncertainty
Separating personal worth from business success
Making financial decisions aligned with business values
Building healthy financial boundaries with clients
Financial therapy helps entrepreneurs develop both the practical skills and emotional resilience needed for business financial success.
High-Achievers and Professionals
Success doesn't automatically translate to financial comfort. Many high-achieving professionals experience:
Financial imposter syndrome despite objective success
Anxiety about financial decisions despite financial knowledge
Difficulty enjoying financial success due to guilt or fear
Challenges balancing ambitious goals with present enjoyment
Perfectionism that creates financial stress or avoidance
Financial therapy helps high-achievers develop a more balanced and fulfilling relationship with money that complements their professional success.
The Financial Therapy Process: What to Expect
Understanding what to expect from financial therapy can help you prepare for this transformative process:
Initial Assessment and Goal Setting
Our work begins with a comprehensive assessment of both your financial situation and your emotional relationship with money. This typically includes:
Exploring your financial history and formative money experiences
Identifying current financial challenges and behaviors
Uncovering core beliefs and emotional patterns related to money
Establishing clear, meaningful goals for our work together
Developing a customized treatment plan aligned with your needs
This assessment phase allows us to create a roadmap for your financial therapy journey tailored to your specific situation.
Core Therapeutic Work
The heart of financial therapy involves addressing the emotional dimensions of your relationship with money. Depending on your unique needs, this may include:
Processing financial trauma or distressing money experiences
Exploring family-of-origin influences on current money behaviors
Identifying and transforming limiting money beliefs
Developing greater emotional awareness around financial triggers
Building new neural pathways for financial confidence and clarity
This emotional work creates the foundation for sustainable behavioral change by addressing the root causes of financial challenges.
Practical Skill Development
Alongside emotional exploration, financial therapy builds practical skills for improved financial wellbeing:
Creating financial mindfulness practices
Developing healthy financial boundaries
Improving financial communication in relationships
Building sustainable money management systems
Aligning financial decisions with personal values
Creating rituals that support financial wellness
These practical tools help translate emotional insights into concrete behavioral changes that improve your financial health.
Integration and Maintenance
As our work progresses, we focus on integrating new insights and behaviors into your daily life:
Consolidating financial therapy insights
Developing strategies for maintaining progress
Creating support systems for continued financial wellness
Planning for future financial challenges
Celebrating growth and transformation
Financial therapy is designed to create lasting change by building both internal resources and external systems that support your financial wellbeing long after our formal work together ends.
Financial Therapy for Couples: Transforming Money Dynamics
Money can be a significant source of conflict in relationships, with financial disagreements often reflecting deeper dynamics around power, security, and values. Financial therapy offers couples a unique opportunity to transform their financial relationship.
Common Couple Financial Patterns
Many couples find themselves caught in predictable financial dynamics:
The Saver-Spender Dynamic: One partner prioritizes security and saving while the other values enjoyment and spending
Financial Power Imbalances: Disparities in income or financial knowledge create control issues
Conflict Avoidance: Avoiding financial conversations until they erupt into arguments
Financial Infidelity: Hiding purchases, accounts, or financial decisions from partners
Different Money Values: Fundamental differences in what money represents and how it should be used
Merged vs. Separate Approaches: Disagreements about how to structure accounts and financial responsibilities
Financial therapy helps identify these patterns and transform them into more collaborative financial partnerships.
The Couple Financial Therapy Process
Couples financial therapy provides a structured, supportive environment for partners to:
Develop a shared understanding of each partner's money history and influences
Identify and communicate individual money values and priorities
Create financial communication patterns that reduce conflict
Develop collaborative decision-making processes for money matters
Build shared financial goals that honor both partners' needs
Create financial systems that work for your unique relationship
This collaborative approach helps couples move from financial conflict to financial partnership, strengthening their relationship while improving their financial health.
Financial Therapy for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
As an entrepreneur or business owner, your relationship with money is often intertwined with your professional identity and business success. My financial therapy approach addresses the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs:
Common Entrepreneurial Money Challenges
Worth and pricing issues: Struggling to value your work appropriately
Revenue rollercoaster: Managing the emotional impact of income fluctuations
Business boundaries: Separating personal and business finances emotionally and practically
Risk tolerance tensions: Navigating the balance between financial security and business growth
Decision paralysis: Overcoming fear-based financial decision-making in your business
Success barriers: Addressing subconscious beliefs that may be limiting business growth
Financial therapy helps entrepreneurs develop both the emotional resilience and practical skills needed for sustainable business financial success.
Entrepreneurial Financial Therapy Benefits
Working with a financial therapist can help you:
Develop healthier beliefs about your worth and the value of your work
Create pricing strategies aligned with both business needs and personal values
Build emotional resilience for managing business financial uncertainty
Make more confident, values-aligned business financial decisions
Reduce anxiety around revenue generation and business growth
Create a healthier relationship between personal identity and business performance
This integrated approach addresses both the practical and emotional dimensions of entrepreneurial financial wellness.
Intensives and Retreats: Accelerated Financial Transformation
For those seeking more concentrated support or faster results, I offer specialized financial therapy intensives and retreats. These immersive experiences provide an opportunity for accelerated transformation through focused therapeutic work.
Individual Financial Therapy Intensives
Individual intensives offer a condensed, powerful format for addressing specific financial challenges:
Typically range from half-day to multi-day experiences
Allow for deeper processing than weekly sessions permit
Provide breakthrough opportunities for persistent financial patterns
Create momentum for significant financial changes
Include follow-up support for integration
These intensives are particularly valuable for individuals navigating major financial transitions or seeking to break through longstanding financial blocks.
Couples Financial Retreats
Couples retreats offer partners dedicated time and space to transform their financial relationship:
Create a distraction-free environment for financial exploration
Provide structured guidance for difficult financial conversations
Allow couples to process financial history and develop new patterns
Include experiential activities that build financial communication skills
Establish foundational agreements for ongoing financial partnership
These retreats help couples break free from recurring financial conflicts and develop a shared vision for their financial future.
Beginning Your Financial Therapy Journey
If you're considering financial therapy, here are the next steps to begin your journey toward financial wellness:
Reaching Out for Support
Taking the first step toward financial therapy can feel vulnerable, but it's also an act of courage and self-care. I offer a supportive, non-judgmental space to explore your financial concerns.
To begin the process:
Schedule an initial consultation: This allows us to discuss your specific situation and how financial therapy might help
Prepare for your first session: Consider your financial history and current concerns
Come with an open mind: Financial therapy may explore unexpected connections between your emotions and financial behaviors
Remember that seeking support for your financial wellbeing is a sign of strength, not weakness. Many successful individuals use financial therapy to enhance their relationship with money.
Location and Accessibility
I offer financial therapy services in two convenient formats:
In-Person Sessions in Roseville, CA
For clients in the greater Roseville area, in-person sessions provide a dedicated space for deep financial therapy work in a comfortable, confidential setting.
Online Therapy Throughout California and Texas
Virtual sessions offer the same quality care with added convenience for clients throughout California and Texas. Online financial therapy provides:
Flexibility for busy schedules
Comfort of participating from your own space
Elimination of commute time
Same evidence-based approaches as in-person sessions
Secure, HIPAA-compliant video platform
Both formats provide effective, transformative financial therapy tailored to your unique needs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Financial Therapy
How is financial therapy different from financial planning?
Financial planning services offered by certified financial planners focus primarily on investment strategies, portfolio management, retirement planning, and other technical aspects of wealth management. I do not offer these financial planning services.
Financial therapy explores the "why" behind your financial behaviors, helping you understand and transform unconscious patterns that may be sabotaging your financial wellbeing. Rather than creating investment portfolios or detailed retirement plans, I help you understand why you might be struggling with money behaviors and develop strategies to create healthier patterns.
While some clients work with both a financial planner and a financial therapist, my focus is exclusively on the psychological and educational aspects of money management, not on specific investment recommendations or detailed financial plans.
How long does financial therapy typically take?
The duration of financial therapy varies based on individual needs, the complexity of financial issues, and personal goals. Some clients achieve their objectives in 8-12 sessions, while others benefit from longer-term support, particularly when addressing deep-rooted financial patterns or trauma.
I offer both traditional weekly sessions and more intensive formats for those seeking accelerated change. During our initial consultation, we'll discuss timeline expectations based on your specific situation and goals.
Is financial therapy only for people with money problems?
Financial therapy benefits individuals across the financial spectrum, not just those experiencing financial difficulties. Many financially successful individuals seek financial therapy to:
Address feelings of guilt or unworthiness around their success
Improve their ability to enjoy wealth without anxiety
Develop healthier relationships with family members around money
Make more aligned decisions about philanthropy and legacy
Navigate the emotional aspects of wealth transitions
Address perfectionism or high achievement patterns related to finances
Financial therapy is about improving your relationship with money regardless of how much you have.
What education do financial therapists have?
Financial therapists come from diverse educational backgrounds. Some begin as mental health professionals with master's degrees in psychology, counseling, or social work, and then obtain additional training in personal finance and behavioral finance. Others start as financial professionals with backgrounds in financial planning who pursue additional education in psychology and therapeutic techniques.
The Financial Therapy Association has established standards for certification that include education requirements, ethics training, and demonstrated competence in both financial and psychological aspects of money. A Certified Financial Therapist™ has met these rigorous standards, though many qualified financial therapists may practice without this specific certification while maintaining appropriate credentials in their home discipline.
Do I need financial aid to afford financial therapy?
While financial therapy is an investment in your well-being, I understand that cost can be a concern. Unlike financial counseling offered through some community organizations, financial therapy is a specialized service that addresses deeper psychological aspects of money.
Rather than discussing specific pricing here, I encourage you to reach out for a consultation where we can discuss your specific needs and appropriate options. The value of financial therapy often extends far beyond the initial investment, as the insights and tools gained can positively impact your financial decisions for years to come.
Will you tell me what to do with my money?
Unlike financial advisors who provide specific investment or financial planning advice, financial therapists focus on the psychological and emotional aspects of money. I don't make specific recommendations about investments, financial products, or detailed financial plans.
Instead, I help you understand your relationship with money and develop the emotional tools to make financial decisions aligned with your values and goals. For specific financial planning advice, I can collaborate with your financial planner or refer you to trusted professionals.
Conclusion: Transforming Your Relationship with Money
Your relationship with money affects nearly every aspect of your life—from daily stress levels to relationship dynamics to your ability to pursue meaningful goals. Financial therapy offers a path to transform this relationship from one characterized by stress, conflict, or avoidance to one of confidence, clarity, and alignment.
As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in financial therapy, I combine insight-oriented talk therapy with advanced techniques such as Brainspotting and Accelerated Resolution Therapy to help clients create more connected and congruent financial lives. My approach is personalized to meet your unique needs, whether you're seeking individual support, couples financial therapy, or specialized financial therapy for entrepreneurs.
Financial wellness isn't just about having enough money—it's about having a healthy relationship with the money you have. By addressing both the practical and emotional dimensions of your financial life, financial therapy creates lasting transformation that extends far beyond your bank account.
To learn more about how financial therapy can support your journey or to schedule an initial consultation, I invite you to reach out. Together, we can work toward creating not just financial stability, but genuine financial wellbeing.
About Audrey Schoen, LMFT
Audrey Schoen is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in trauma-informed financial therapy. As a Certified Master ART Practitioner and trained Brainspotting therapist, she integrates advanced therapeutic techniques to address the complex relationship between emotional wellbeing and financial health.
With expertise in working with individuals, couples, entrepreneurs, and law enforcement officer spouses, Audrey provides customized support for various financial challenges. Her approach focuses on creating connected, congruent lives through both insight-oriented therapy and practical skill development.
In addition to traditional weekly sessions, Audrey offers intensive therapy options and retreats for those seeking accelerated results. She serves clients in-person in Roseville, CA, and virtually throughout California and Texas.