FINANCIAL THERAPY WITH RACHEL SYKES, PSYCHOTHERAPIST
Improve your relationship with money
Does the subject of personal finances make you uncomfortable? Okay, maybe a little more than just uncomfortable? You KNOW that you should have more saved, given how much you actually earn. Maybe you don’t appreciate the irony that you work in finance but aren’t doing enough for yourself and your own family. What is holding you back?
Why are you spending money like this? How much are you actually enjoying your money? You bought some great jewelry or a new handbag as a “treat” but you have realized you don’t actually wear them.
Maybe you bought your family a vacation condo so you all could go skiing in the winter and lounge by the lake in the summer but it’s almost turned into a problem because you are not using it.
Money trauma - is that a thing?
Unfortunately, yes, folks can have trauma relating to money, numbers, finances, etc., which can make it extra challenging to make consistent, informed choices about spending, saving, planning… the list goes on. Sometimes, this results in depending on others to do the money stuff for you. That’s not necessarily bad but sometimes it leaves you in a weak and vulnerable position.
Feeling nervous about your financial future?
Your financial goals are kinda general or perhaps you are procrastinating about actually setting them. Do you have a plan and are you following it? Need help figuring out what’s holding you back?
Financial therapy is a targeted form of therapy that focuses on your beliefs, feelings, and behaviors that contribute to a poor relationship with money.
Can money be scary? Yes, but that doesn’t need to hold you back from making sound financial decisions to benefit yourself, your family, and your community.
My financial experience
I worked for 25 years in the investment and retirement industries, completed my MBA and earned the right to use the CFA designation. I also taught financial planning, general finance, and financial literacy courses at a local university. I am a volunteer member of The Financial Literacy Council at CFA Boston and a member of the Boston Economic Club.
Despite my career change to become a licensed therapist, I liked many things about working in this industry, especially teaching. Financial therapy allows me to utilize my professional experience more holistically to help clients improve their relationship with money.
What Financial therapy is NOT
Financial therapy, as far as I am concerned, is NOT financial planning. I don’t sell any financial products. I do not make any financial recommendations nor make any guarantees regarding your financial progress. However, we can discuss your goals in this area and identify ways in which you might be sabotaging yourself with your unexamined thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and actions.
Who is this a good fit for?
Folks who are open to discussing how their past experiences and feelings have affected their relationship with money
People that are willing to have challenging discussions and tolerate discomfort
People who know they should have done more to meet their financial goals and don’t understand why they have not
People who are willing to do therapeutic homework between sessions
Clients who are serious about change
Those who have out-of-network insurance benefits that will reimburse for session costs or are able to pay out of pocket for fees
Someone who is located in either Massachusetts or New Hampshire, as that is where I, Rachel, am licensed
When might this not be a good fit?
When clients want to go through their insurance to pay for sessions
When someone wants financial advice or financial planning recommendations
When someone is unwilling to discuss their emotions or difficult past experiences - this IS therapy
Those who want to “fix” a family member who is not good with money
When someone is not ready to or interested in attending regular appointments and having hard conversations