Financial therapy focuses on the psychological and emotional aspects of money. I am a Certified Financial Social Worker which means I help people in therapy to connect with their money in new ways in order to make meaningful changes in financial behavior. We will address the emotional side of money that could be making you feel stressed, anxious, depressed and avoidant, and may even be interfering with your relationships or meeting your financial goals. Financial therapy can support you in healing from money trauma. We will work together to improve your relationship with money, improve your mental health, heal money trauma, and improve your relationships with those you share your finances with. We will start by building your money story to identify what over the course of your life has contributed to how you view and feel about money, and how these feelings drive your money decisions. We will set you on your path towards reduced money stress and increased money confidence.

A financial therapist (or financial social worker) is someone who is trained in financial therapy or social work and supports clients with their relationship with money. A financial therapist can help people to reduce money avoidance and financial anxiety, heal from financial trauma, and build financial confidence.

Below is what a Financial Therapist can do versus what a Financial Planner (or other certified financial professional) can do. It is important for financial therapists to stay within their scope of practice.

Financial therapists can help you to:

• Develop your money story and understand what has influenced your relationship with money over the course of your life.

• Understand the psychological and emotional aspects of money, and how this drives your financial behavior.

• See how money can impact you physically, emotionally, mentally, psychologically, and socially.

• Feel more comfortable talking about money with your partner(s) or family members.

• Reduce feeling avoidant or anxious about money.

• Feel less shame around money.

• Heal from money trauma.

• Feel empowered and confident to take control of your money and your financial future.

• Believe you are capable of making changes to your financial situation.

• Develop skills for money management and making meaningful financial behavioral change.

• Feel motivated towards financial literacy.

• Take action towards your financial goals with less fear and more confidence.

Financial professionals (e.g. financial planners, financial advisors, accountants, etc.) can help you to:

• Assess your financial situation.

• Create a financial plan.

• Offer advice on saving and investing.

• Manage your investments if desired.

• Purchase financial products if desired.

• Plan for retirement.

• Implement tax planning strategies.

• Do estate planning.

• Create a debt payment plan.

• And more…

Note: There are differences between financial planners and financial advisors, and differences between “types” of financial planners and advisors. Each comes with their own unique experiences and perspectives and can hold various types of degrees and certifications. Determining which is right for you can be complicated and should be based on your personal needs and goals. Please research the differences and seek consultation to determine which is best for you and your situation if/when you are looking to hire a financial professional.

Financial anxiety is when you feel worried or on edge when thinking about your finances. Anyone can experience financial anxiety regardless of your financial circumstances. This is because money is emotional. Someone can experience financial anxiety for many reasons, and some of the anxiety may come from a history of money insecurity, scarcity, conflict, and may even be a symptom of money trauma (read more on money trauma in the next FAQ). Financial anxiety can look like having racing thoughts about money, or a racing heart, sweating, tingling, nausea, dizziness, or another anxiety related symptom when thinking or talking about money, or having to make financial decisions. This can lead to making less than ideal financial decisions, money avoidance, or relational conflict. We can talk together to identify whether you may be experiencing financial anxiety and the impact it is having on your daily life. From there, we can find ways to reduce your money anxiety and build money confidence.

Money trauma can happen in response to things like poverty, financial abuse, divorce, high medical bills or other debt, bankruptcy, sudden loss of assets, compounding effect of not having enough money for your basic needs, unemployment, death of a partner or family member, systemic oppression, generational scarcity, marginalization, discrimination, racism, sexism, and more.

Symptoms of money trauma can look like money avoidance, hypervigilance, panic response, impaired sleep and appetite, excessive worry and rumination, overspending or underspending, body aches and head aches, stomach problems, tension, and more.

Financial trauma can drive people to avoid their finances, work too much, have poor financial boundaries, and constantly be in a scarcity mindset. This can result in interpersonal conflict with partners and family members, low self-worth anxiety, depression, and can generally interfere with daily functioning and ability to make good financial decisions.

If any of this resonates with you, you may have experienced money trauma and it could be worth getting some support to unpack your experience with money and find ways to improve your symptoms.

Your first session will be a virtual 55-minute clinical intake session so I can learn more about what brings you to therapy and gather information on your relationship with money. We will talk about your past experiences that relate to money, and how you feel about money currently. The first session is also a time for you to ask me any questions you might have, build trust, and help you feel comfortable. Sessions after that will be virtual 45-minute appointments. We will start with building your money story to understand what has influenced your relationship with money, talk about how money makes you feel and how it is impacting your life, and identify the relationship with money you would like to have. From there, we will develop a plan together with the goal of bringing you relief, reducing any symptoms of money stress you may be experiencing, improving your mental wellbeing and relationships, and taking action on your money goals.

Although I am certified in Financial Social Work and the Trauma of Money Method, and have knowledge on personal finance that can be useful to our discussions, I am not an accountant, financial planner, or financial advisor. I do not offer financial advice, and I cannot advise you on how to invest your money. What I do is help you deepen your understanding of your relationship with money and how it impacts you and your relationships. I help you with the emotional side of money and with identifying the factors that are contributing to how money impacts your emotions, financial decisions, relationships, and your life. I help you with healing financial anxiety and money trauma, and becoming more comfortable and confident about money to help support your mental wellbeing and making financial decisions that are more in alignment with your needs, values, and goals. If you need financial advice on investing, finding a certified financial professional would be best. I do believe we don’t talk enough about the psychological aspects of money, and that it can be necessary to make meaningful change in the way we feel about money and our financial behavior, so it can be useful to address the emotional side of money before or while working with a financial professional.

The initial 55-minute clinical intake session and all 45-minute psychotherapy sessions after that will be held online via Zoom or phone. If you are engaging in ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) sessions with me, you have the option to do those 2.5 hour sessions in-person in Oakland, CA, or online via Zoom.