“Financial therapy programs train people in recognizing that problems are outside their expertise and how to refer them to others if necessary,” she said. It is common to refer clients to lawyers and accountants when they are facing major life events such as marriage, divorce, career change, retirement or death in the family. Why are you not a therapist?
Larger financial institutions are also adopting a more nuanced approach to their customers.
“Financial planners always know that their clients struggle to execute on their goals, even when they are clearly outlined and substantiated,” says a founding member of the Financial Therapy Association and financial advisory firm. says Sonny Luther, Head of Research and Education at Herbers, a consultancy firm in “What’s missing is the personal behavioral component. Computers can’t spew it out. Many large companies are now realizing this and are starting to incorporate behavioral training into their work.”
even CFP board, the organization that oversees the accreditation process for certified financial planners, has embraced the “soft skills” of money management. In January, the board added a section to the educational program called “The Psychology of Financial Planning.” This section covers topics such as Counseling Principles and Client and Planner Attitudes, Values and Prejudices.
“Today, anyone who wants to become a certified financial planner must demonstrate competence in the psychology of financial planning, which is more or less financial therapy,” said Dr. Lutter.
With Americans feeling high financial insecurity, it is perhaps inevitable that treatment and money will mix. It also reflects the growing challenges of our economic lives.
“Most of us don’t have a stable career for 30 years and then retire,” Kleiman says. “We juggle multiple different jobs and income streams. We have to manage and plan our future. You need a tool to do that, which I would argue is a bigger process than a spreadsheet contains.”
