Talking about money with your partner can be difficult sometimes! Understanding tools and strategies to take with you into those money conversations can be a major benefit to your relationship--and may even save you money!
Rachel Koonse, a licensed marriage and family therapist based in NorCal, dives into the research around disagreement and conflict, ways to model money conversations for our kids, ways to be a reflective listener, and so so much more!
Resources Mentioned
TD Bank Love and Money Survey
John Gotman Research and Resources for Marriage Communication
Affordable Therapy Options and Resources:
- Going through Insurance
- Ask your HR about something called an EAP (Employee Assistance Program). These programs will often cover a certain amount of sessions or help pay for therapy sessions for their employees.
- Look into non-profits and low fee clinics in your area (Ex Cancer Support Community)
- Pre-lisenced Mental Health Professional: Local colleges and Universities might offer inexpensive therapy, sometimes even as low as $1. In these cases, it is common to find less expensive therapy because the therapists are still in training. The upside is that these therapists in training also have trained supervisors who are able to offer input, and they often have smaller case loads.
- Ask your therapist if they have a Sliding Scale fee. This is a system where the therapist might adjust their hourly fee to help make therapy more affordable.
- Group therapy or support groups are also a great options that can be cheaper than traditional one-on-one therapy. The other benefit to group therapy is that you already have a built-in support system with the other members who attend.
- Student in college or community college may offer free therapy through on-campus counseling center.
- Online therapy. With the pandemic came a wealth of online therapy options. BetterHelp, TalkSpace, and Headway are just a few options.
Rachel Koonse is a licensed marriage and family therapist who is based in NorCal and supports clients across California via telehealth. She is the Virtual Program Manager of Cancer Support Community Pasadena as well as maintains a caseload of individual therapy clients through Path Mental Health. With experience in group practices, nonprofit settings, and schools, Rachel is passionate about creating space in therapy for clients to be heard, valued, and supported to reach their goals and potential.
