Do You Practice Financial Intelligence?
By: Anne Brennan Malec, PsyD, LMFT Many of us may be familiar with the term emotional intelligence, but fewer may be so with the idea of financial intelligence. Financial intelligence is the practice of managing finances and spending in a way that is in keeping with a budget and one’s financial goals. Financial intelligence is…
Read MoreFinancial Therapy
Yes, Money Can Impact Your Financial, Physical, Social, and Mental Health! Money and financial issues can have a significant impact on a person, both positive and negative, in all aspects of their lives. It’s being able to identify when money and finances are causing a negative impact and when it is time to seek help.…
Read MoreWhere is Your Personal Boundary? Finding Healthy Ways to Say “No”
It is naturally unappealing to say “no” in many situations where people we care about or want to impress ask us a favor. Instinctively, we do not want to disappoint or risk having the other person think less of us. Other times we do not want to make the other person feel the sting of…
Read MoreUnderstanding Vulnerabilities and Relationship Communication Styles
I use the term “vulnerability” often with my clients, and many of them sigh at the use of such a therapeutic word. It is therapeutic in the sense that it is a term I learned in my training to become a therapist to describe certain sensitivities inherent to all people, but it is also the…
Read MoreHow are you? No, really, how are you?
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou One of the primary issues that brings couples into therapy is communication problems. Each person feels that their partner has shut them out of their inner world,…
Read MoreYes I Can! Finding the Key to Your Willpower
When changing a habit or trying a new routine, many people claim willpower as the biggest obstacle to achieving their goal. Willpower is seen as a strength. It is how people exercise control over temptation and exercise persistence to learn new things. It is the conqueror of procrastination and a cherished ally when it is…
Read MoreCaregiver Fatigue and Self Care
Many of us are caregivers in our personal or professional lives, or both. On a personal level, caregiving may involve caring for small children, an older or ailing parent, a sick friend or sibling, or even for a pet. Professionally, we may work in high-stress environments with significant pressure to provide output, we may care for and heal patients or represent clients, and often we take on our client or employer’s needs. In order to succeed in both personal and professional realms, it’s important to be able to identify “caregiver fatigue” in ourselves and to remedy it with self-care before we burn out.
Read MoreLife is Not The Brady Bunch: Unique Challenges Faced by Blended Families
Although increasingly common in our culture, many blended families struggle and suffer excess stress around what was hoped to be a joyful joining of two families. There are no healthy cultural role models for blended families, the most notable example being the highly unrealistic Brady Bunch. This leaves partners struggling to juggle the needs of…
Read MoreIt’s Time to Talk Money!
Financial Therapy Blog 2.14.16 Why is it so difficult to talk to your family, loved ones, friends, or colleagues about money? What is it about money that makes it so taboo? Around two thirds of American adults, regardless of race, gender, or economic status, are stressed about money and yet we aren’t talking about it.…
Read MoreFight or Flight or…What? Finding the Middle Ground to Control Your Instincts
When conflict occurs in an intimate relationship, something is triggered in each partner. To some, it may feel like a slow boil, a tingle or a buzz that grows stronger with each word that you interpret as insulting, disrespectful, or mean. To others, it is like flipping a switch. One moment you are calm and…
Read More