Psychology of Financial Planning

CHAPTER 12Working with Couples and Families: A Systems Perspective

In the mental health field, there are professionals who are trained as specialists to work with couples and families. In the financial planning field, no such training exists, even though a large percentage of a planner's client base is couples and families. As previously discussed, a planner is not only dealing with a client's current relationship, but also the influence of a client's past, present, and possibly future relationships. Working with couples and families is different than working with individuals.

There are tools a planner can use to improve their effectiveness in working with couples and families to address financial disagreements. These tools not only help planners identify and solve financial issues, but they can also help a planner recognize when it is inappropriate to continue working with family members and refer them to a mental health professional. It can be rewarding to help couples achieve financial health for themselves as well as each other.

THE SELF‐AWARE FINANCIAL PLANNER

For a planner to be neutral and effective in their work with couples and families, they must cultivate a strong sense of self‐awareness. If a planner does not exercise self‐awareness with regard to their own financial psychology, they run the risk of subconsciously choosing sides with one individual over the other within the couple. Remaining neutral when a couple is in the midst of a struggle can be challenging. ...