Money Trauma

Money makes the world go round. Until it doesn't.

It can also underpin some of the most difficult elements of existing in the world, like working, spending money on essentials, understanding our value and transacting with other people.

Money trauma occurs when we are exposed to experiences or circumstances that go on to impact our relationship with money and the use of it throughout our lives. Money is inescapable; it's the way that we exchange goods and services and interact with other people. It imbues value, can make us feel powerful or can cause us to live in a state of precarity or vulnerability.

Often, we absorb strong signals and values about money and how we relate to it when we are growing up in environments where money is scarce or even abundant. Either way, money trauma often shows up for people when it was a major component of their childhood - i.e. growing up in poverty and experiencing bullying for not possessing the necessary items for social signals (clothing, accessories, technology) - or access to the things our peers might have (school trips, after-school activities and clubs, social events).

If you notice the impact that money had on you back then, then therapy and counselling for money trauma can help you to understand how money plays a role in your life in ways that you might not currently be aware of.

Questions to ask yourself:

Do you struggle to ask for more money at work?
Do you have a vastly different approach to money than your partner?
Do you undersell your services?
Do you struggle to spend money on yourself, but can easily spend on others?
Do you feel the need to keep up with others and their latest phone, car, or house purchase?
Does the idea of budgeting make you feel restricted or nervous?

Understanding your relationship with money is a key component of managing it effectively and making peace with how you feel about it. Money trauma is not like alcohol trauma; we cannot heal our relationship with it through abstinence.

We have to use money to live, so it follows that we should learn how to live with it.

Money trauma for therapists, counsellors and the self-employed

Being a self-employed person is naturally beset with responsibility and pressure; however, our personal relationship with money is rarely more alive and visible than when we are asking for payment for our services. Whilst on paper, this is a banal and emotionless transaction, most self-employed people will notice whether they have a particular difficulty or stress around invoicing and asking clients for payments. This can be even more of an issue for those who are care providers, service providers, counsellors and therapists.

However, the transaction of skills for money need not be imbued with emotional heaviness, shame and complex feelings. Money trauma therapy can help professionals and individuals alike to unpack their personal relationship with money and where the influences on how they behave came from.

Work with me, a certified Money Trauma Therapist

If you would like to have an easier relationship with your professional finances, then don't hesitate to talk to me about sessions to work through this issue. I have undertaken extensive training with The Trauma Of Money™ Institute and am a certified Money Trauma facilitator and alumnus. Consequently, I have a wide selection of tools and interventions which I can bring to sessions to encourage a deep dive into your money issues, as well as suggestions and support in the areas of change that you would like to make.

Laura Harley BSc (Hons) Adv. Dip. Counselling MBACP (Accred)
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Activité d’accompagnement en relation d’aide, exercée en tant que psychopraticienne, hors du cadre médical et réglementé des professions de santé en France.