My name is Elaine Korngold and I am proud to share that I was interviewed and featured in an article in Financial Therapy in a national magazine – Counseling Today.
“Money is the dirty little secret of American society. The unspoken social contract is that, like Voldemort, it shall not be named. We may joke about winning the lottery, but we don’t reveal the strained financial circumstances that underlie that pipe dream. Modern life is not cheap. Unfortunately, many workplaces and professions do not reflect this reality. Could we be making more money? Who knows? Many companies forbid their employees to discuss salaries with co-workers.”
“Financial difficulties can cause stress and depression. Stress and depression make it harder to tackle money problems. It becomes a vicious cycle — particularly for those who are already living with mental health problems.”
“Financial therapists primarily come from the mental health, coaching and financial fields. Some of them are mental health professionals who realized that money plays an important role in overall well-being and decided to become trained to offer financial therapy in addition to their regular practice.”
“…people begin developing money beliefs — and potential future problems — in childhood. These attitudes are often developed through experience and observation rather than parental instruction.”
‘That’s because many families don’t talk about money, notes American Counseling Association member Elaine Korngold, a licensed professional counselor in Portland, Oregon. Children grow up in families not knowing how much money their parents make, how much (or how little) different jobs pay, and what level of income is necessary to cover basics such as rent/mortgage, utilities and food — let alone how to set up and follow a budget, she says.”
“Although parents usually talk about and teach their children essential life skills such as driving, anything to do with money is often kept secret, says Korngold, who worked in the financial sector before she became a counselor. This not only leaves children uninformed and unprepared but also reinforces the societal perception of money as a taboo topic. As a result, many adults who struggle to manage their finances simply don’t know how to seek help or are too ashamed to ask for it, she says.”
https://ct.counseling.org/2021/04/money-on-the-mind/
If you would like to learn more about how Financial Therapy can help you, book a free 20-minute phone consultation with Elaine Korngold, LPC.