When someone tells me they avoid looking at their money, I want to understand the bigger background story. What is happening in their life? What have they learned to expect from money? And what makes sitting down with those numbers feel so difficult?
That is part of why I don’t look at money in isolation. Your relationships, work, health and environment matter. So does the amount of time and energy you actually have available to deal with your finances.
Financial trauma is a sensitive part of this conversation. We need room to acknowledge difficult experiences without assuming that every money worry is trauma, or that a coach can treat it. My role is to support financial learning, reflection and practical action within the limits of coaching. Sometimes the right next step is another kind of support.
What financial trauma means in this conversation
Here, financial trauma describes lasting distress around money that someone connects to harmful experiences involving security, survival or control. It is a way of discussing those experiences, not a diagnosis that I can make through a coaching conversation.
SAMHSA, the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, describes trauma as arising from events or circumstances experienced as harmful or life-threatening that have lasting effects on functioning and wellbeing. The person’s experience and its effects matter; we cannot decide what something meant for them by looking only at the event. SAMHSA on trauma explains that broader framework.
Money may be part of a history of instability, loss or being controlled by another person. But experiencing financial hardship does not tell us, on its own, whether someone has a trauma-related condition. Neither does avoiding a bank statement or feeling anxious about spending.
The National Institute of Mental Health makes a related distinction: not everyone who experiences a traumatic event develops post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. A qualified mental health professional assesses whether symptoms meet the criteria. Financial trauma and PTSD should not be treated as interchangeable terms. NIMH’s guide to PTSD provides the clinical context.
Looking at patterns without labelling yourself
Some women who come to me describe swinging between avoiding their finances and feeling pressure to make a quick decision when they finally look. Others are good at earning money but cannot see how that income is creating the quality of life they want. An entrepreneur might also be trying to feel more secure while income changes dramatically from one month to the next.
These are starting points for a conversation. They are not proof of trauma. A person may need clearer information, a workable system, more income, emotional support, or some combination of those things.
I want to understand what is happening before jumping to advice. If your work and family responsibilities leave you exhausted, telling you to “be more disciplined” doesn’t tell us where the time for managing money will come from. We need to look at your capacity and what would make the next step realistic.
Your circumstances matter as much as your mindset
As a woman of colour, I care about the barriers that leave people behind. I also care about helping people become more resourceful. Both belong in the same conversation.
I’m not here to spiritually gaslight you or pretend that optimism makes economic injustice disappear. If there isn’t enough money for basic needs, that shortage deserves practical attention. Reflection alone cannot pay the rent or create an income that is missing.
Research gives us reason to take those pressures seriously. A 2023 review of 58 research articles following US adults over time found a consistent link between financial strain and depression. That does not make financial strain and trauma interchangeable, or establish coaching as a treatment. It reinforces why practical financial needs belong in the conversation alongside emotional support.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes financial wellbeing in terms of meeting obligations, feeling secure about the future and having room to make choices. It also acknowledges that some of the factors affecting wellbeing are outside an individual’s control. That is an important starting point for any money conversation. Read the CFPB’s financial wellbeing findings.
For me, wealth includes having more choice over your time and being able to meet your needs. It also includes thinking beyond individual success. I explore that wider view in Community Cultural Wealth and Why Collective Wealth Matters.
What trauma informed support should make room for
“Trauma-informed” should tell you something about how a service is offered. SAMHSA’s principles include safety, transparency, collaboration and the person’s voice and choice. These are principles for how organisations work, not a promise that a particular service treats trauma. SAMHSA’s trauma-informed framework is a useful reference.
If you are considering coaching, you can ask practical questions before deciding whether to work together:
What training have you completed, and what are you qualified to help with?
Can I pause, decline an exercise or choose not to discuss a personal experience?
If sessions are recorded or transcribed, how is consent handled and who can access them?
What happens if the support I need is outside your scope?
You deserve clear answers. You do not have to share the most painful parts of your history just to ask how a service works. In my practice, I ask separately before we begin working together whether video recording and transcription are okay with you. You can agree to either, both, or neither, and our sessions can go ahead without recording or transcription.
A video lets you revisit what we talked about. A transcript helps me take notes and prepare a follow-up while staying present during our conversation. I store session recordings in private folders in my business Google Drive, with access limited to me and the client whose session it is. No one else is authorized to access them. I intend for you to have ongoing access to your session materials, and I will delete your recording or transcript if you ask. Course materials are separate and hosted in ThriveCart.
Where my coaching fits
I have completed the Trauma of Money program. Its interdisciplinary approach informs how I think about money in the context of personal experience, relationships, and wider systems. My training in EFT tapping, breathwork, and meditation is still in progress. I am not a licensed counsellor, and my coaching does not diagnose or treat trauma or other mental health conditions. You can read more about my background on my About page.
Within coaching, we can work on understanding what is coming in and going out, learning money concepts, clarifying your goals and building routines you can use. I also use reflective writing and conversations about values to help you consider what you want money to support.
My Wealth Well framework brings together Wealth Wellness, Wealth Strategy and Wealth Creation. The practical and reflective pieces need to fit your situation. For one person, the immediate priority might be organising bills. For another, it might be understanding an irregular income or preparing questions for a financial professional. My guide to financial wellness coaching explains how these three pillars work together and what working with me can look like.
I care about how you feel with money as well as what changes on paper. Progress might mean being more comfortable asking a question or knowing what to do next. Those are possible goals, not guaranteed results or a timeline for healing.
In her testimonial on my private coaching page, Molly F. shared: “Morgan was incredible at creating an environment of zero judgement and allowing for space to discuss money with a holistic approach.”
This is her individual experience of coaching, not evidence of trauma treatment or a guarantee of how someone else will feel or what they will achieve.
If values are a useful starting point for you, Mindful Spending and Aligning Money With Your Values offers another way to reflect. It is educational reading, not trauma treatment.
When another kind of support is needed
If distress is affecting your sleep, relationships, work or daily life, speak with a qualified mental health professional. You do not need a coach to diagnose you before seeking help. NIMH recommends working with a professional experienced in PTSD when those symptoms are present; treatment may involve psychotherapy, medication or both. Read NIMH’s treatment guidance.
If someone is using money to control you or you feel unsafe in a relationship, specialist domestic-abuse support may be more urgent than coaching. The Public Health Agency of Canada provides safety planning guidance, including seeking local support and considering device safety. Use resources only in ways that are safe for your situation.
Financial needs can require other specialists too. I do not recommend particular investments for you or provide tax or legal advice. Those questions belong with appropriately qualified professionals. If debt payments have become unmanageable, a reputable credit counsellor or a licensed insolvency professional may be relevant. Canadian readers can start with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s guide to getting debt help. If you live elsewhere, look for appropriate local services and check the professional requirements where you live. If you are weighing financial education against personalised financial advice, read Financial Coach vs Financial Advisor: How to Choose the Right Support.
Coaching and specialist support may sit alongside one another. There is no income threshold you have to meet to start a conversation with me. If you want to explore financial coaching, a free Clarity Call gives us space to discuss your needs, budget, and what feels comfortable to invest. From there, I can suggest an appropriate offer or resource, such as free resources, a one-off Strategy Call, or a Wealth Audit. Longer-term coaching is an option when you have the money available without sacrificing essentials or taking on burdensome debt. You do not have to make coaching your first step, or commit to a long-term programme to get help.
A small place to begin
You do not need to revisit painful memories to begin considering what would help now. If reflection feels useful, choose one of these questions and leave the rest:
What needs attention first in my financial life, and is there anything time-sensitive?
What would make one practical money task more manageable for me?
What kind of support do I want, and what qualifications should that person have?
You can skip these questions or stop if they feel overwhelming. They are prompts for choosing a next step, not a test or a treatment exercise.
My hope is that money becomes something you can approach with more clarity and support. I am based in Toronto, Ontario, and offer virtual coaching internationally. If practical financial learning and reflection are what you are looking for, you can explore my coaching options and decide whether they fit. If you need something else, that choice matters just as much.
