A new study released by the University of Georgia is aimed at merging the realms of therapy and financial planning. Financial therapy is where therapists and financial planners partner to deliver a more integrated approach to solving financial problems for consumers. Currently the practice is more targeted at the affluent, who can afford the services of two professionals.
Kahler Financial Group was one of the first financial planning firms to begin partnering with therapists in blending financial planning with psychology. We started working with therapists in the early 2000’s. Today there are only about 30 practitioners nationwide that are combining the specialties.
There still is little research about how best to do it until recently as the universities in Georgia and Kansas began experiments and the research I co-authored with the Klontzes. An interesting article on the study was just posted by Heather Hollingsworth of the AP. You can read it here.