Financial psychotherapy is a new emerging field and there are very few professionals that can truly call themselves financial psychotherapists. Only very few psychotherapists incorporate financial psychotherapy into their practice. However, even these psychotherapists rarely treat financial issues as the main goal of therapy, focusing instead on psychological dysfunctions resulting from personality and psychotic disorders, or from marital discord. Even though qualified financial psychotherapists are hard to find, this emerging field is already well represented in numerous books, articles, television programs and public seminars. Financial psychotherapy may not differ much from any other form of psychotherapy, except that it will be focused on issues related to money.

Choosing a Therapist

Financial psychotherapy is not represented in psychology school curricula. Therefore, your psychotherapist’s degrees, license, training or theoretical orientation are of minor importance. Years of experience do not matter either, unless this experience was acquired in the field of financial psychotherapy, which is rare. The most crucial aspect of any psychotherapy, including financial, is the rapport between you and your therapist. It also crucial that you take charge of your own therapy and critically evaluate its results.

Taking Charge of Your Therapy

Taking charge of your therapy means that you cannot be a passive recipient of psychotherapeutic services. Instead, you and your therapist become partners equally responsible for your success. Your responsibilities include presenting your issues and setting the therapy goals, while your therapist provides the structure for resolving these issues and achieving your goals. In financial psychotherapy, a therapist acts as a coach or a consultant, and whatever you learn in therapy you have to practice in your everyday life.

It is also your responsibility to evaluate the progress you are making and fire your therapist, if your psychotherapy does not work. If financial psychotherapy does work for you, a couple of months of therapy will produce at least some changes in your ability to earn a living, or, even better, some income increase. If this does not happen then you have to either change your therapist or apply some other methodology to increase your income.

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