When financial conversations start sounding like political debates, something deeper is going on, and this piece explores why facts can feel threatening when emotions take the driver’s seat. It highlights how polarization has eroded our shared understanding of basic economic principles, leaving advisors torn between honesty and clients’ emotional reactions. Drawing on the lens of financial therapy, it reveals how identity, fear, and belonging shape our interpretation of financial truth, and why both clients and advisors must learn to regulate their own internal “parts” to stay grounded. The heart of the message is simple but powerful: emotional awareness isn’t a soft skill—it’s a financial one, and reclaiming it may be the only way to restore trust in objective guidance.

#FinancialTherapy #MoneyAndEmotions #EmotionalAwareness #FinancialPsychology #MoneyMindset #FinancialTruth #BehavioralFinance #MoneyBeliefs #IdentityAndMoney #EmotionsAndFinance #AdvisorClientTrust #FinancialWellness #MoneyConversations #Polarization #SelfRegulation

A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive our money decisions.
Join Rick Kahler, CFP®, CFT™, as he blends practical financial wisdom with the emotional insights that shape our choices. Discover how financial therapy can help you make money decisions that truly align with your values..

Most of us hear the word “socialism” and picture a single, monolithic system—but this episode unpacks four very different versions of it and reveals how much fear and old conditioning shape our reactions to economic ideas. Through an unexpectedly personal journey, Rick traces how his Cold War–era assumptions unraveled as he explored the distinctions between State Socialism, State Capitalism, worker cooperatives, and Social Democracy, and how that shift mirrors the emotional work many people face in financial therapy. What emerges is a deeper question about power, who holds it, how we relate to it, and why letting go of outdated beliefs can feel both unsettling and liberating.

#EconomicPsychology #FinancialTherapy #MoneyBeliefs #SocialismExplained #EconomicSystems #StateSocialism #StateCapitalism #WorkerCooperatives #SocialDemocracy #ColdWarConditioning #UnlearningFear #PowerAndMoney #MindsetShift #EmotionalEconomics #BehaviorChange #MoneyMindset #RethinkingEconomics #InnerWork #PsychologyOfPower #LiberatingBeliefs

A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive our money decisions.
Join Rick Kahler, CFP®, CFT™, as he blends practical financial wisdom with the emotional insights that shape our choices. Discover how financial therapy can help you make money decisions that truly align with your values..

What if the way you pay is part of the therapy? Some psychoanalytic therapists ask for cash after each session—not for convenience, but because money itself reveals emotional truth. Forgetting to pay, overpaying, or haggling can uncover hidden dynamics worth exploring. Vessy explains how two sessions a week can go far deeper than one and why honest talk about fees is as essential as discussing feelings. When money enters the room, therapy gets real—and that’s where lasting change begins.

#MoneyInTherapy #PsychoanalyticTherapy #FinancialTherapy #TherapyInsights #EmotionalDynamics #MoneyPsychology #TherapyProcess #BehindTheTherapyRoom #TherapeuticRelationship #HealingPatterns #DeepTherapyWork #MoneyMindset #EmotionalAwareness #TherapeuticChange #ExploringFeelings #TherapyConversation #MentalHealthPodcast #InnerWork #UnderstandingYourself #TherapyJourney

A podcast that blends the nuts and bolts of financial advice with the emotions that drive our money decisions.
Join Rick Kahler, CFP®, CFT™, as he blends practical financial wisdom with the emotional insights that shape our choices. Discover how financial therapy can help you make money decisions that truly align with your values..