Financial Leaders in Financial
Social Work Behavioral Health
2 Center for Financial Social Work
Contents
3 4
Center for Financial Reeta Wolfsohn,
Social Work CMSW
6 7 10 22
Introduction Past Present Future
24 25
Financial Behavioral Financial Social Work
Health™ Pledge Certification
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
3 Center for Financial Social Work
Center for Financial Social Work
Located in North Carolina, the Center for Financial Social
Work has been creating original interactive, holistic
Financial Behavioral Health™ programs for over 20 years.
Our mission moves Financial Health and Wellness™ beyond dollars, cents, debt,
budgets, and crisis intervention by empowering individuals and professionals
to examine the thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs that determine financial
behavior: how one earns, spends, saves, shares, and borrows.
Our teaching methodology is a reflective, strengths-based approach that engages,
educates, motivates, and supports clients in healing their relationship with their
money and with themselves to create sustainable, long-term, financial wellbeing.
Join our free, inclusive community and gain insight,
understanding, skills, and tools from our founder,
Reeta Wolfsohn, and the growing number of Certified
Financial Social Workers in the United States and
Visit Our around the world.
Website
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
4 Center for Financial Social Work
Reeta Wolfsohn, CMSW
Reeta Wolfsohn, CMSW, is the founder of the Financial
Social Work discipline and the author of this ebook.
She has devoted a significant part of her life to
pioneering new areas of academic inquiry and
transforming her research and experience into practical
financial health and wellness programs and materials for
social workers and non-social workers.
The certification goes beyond dollars, cents, debt, budgets, and crisis intervention
because Reeta knows how debilitating financial problems, stress, anxiety, and
trauma are to physical, mental, emotional, and overall health and wellbeing.
It focuses on the need for clients to heal their relationship with their money and
with themselves. She developed this unique process after identifying that clients
overwhelmed by their financial circumstances aren't able to learn or practice new
money management skills and tools.
Reeta’s work continues to meet and adapt to the changing times and needs of
clients and the professionals who work with them through Financial Behavioral
Health™, part of the Center's mission to develop and expand the field of Financial
Health and Wellness™.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
5 Center for Financial Social Work
Highlights
Coined "Femonomics" - the Financial Social Work chapter Introduced Financial Behavioral
Gender of Money; Financial included in the NASW Press Health™ as part of the Center's
Social Work evolved from publication: Social Work mission to develop and
Wolfsohn's work with women Matters: The Power of Linking expand the field of Financial
struggling financially. Policy and Practice. Health and Wellness™.
Femonomics became Financial The National Association of Financial Social Work
Social Work in 2003 as it evolved Social Workers (NASW) has researched for efficacy in
into a non-gender-specific approved the FSW certification Erie, Pennsylvania (highest
form of financial engagement, since 2013, awarding 20 CEUs to poverty rate of any major
education, motivation, all students who complete and city in PA) under the
reflection, and support. pass the final certification exam. auspices of United Way.
Keynote at Financial Education Taught first Financial Social Financial Social Work Institute
and Professional Development Work graduate-level course at at Black Family Summit -
Summit. Birmingham, Alabama. the University of Maryland. Jackson, Mississippi.
Presentations at state, national, and world conferences across the United Certified Financial Social
States, including Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Employee Workers, Counselors,
Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA), Financial Therapy Coaches, and Educators
Association (FTA), National Association of Social Workers (NASW), across the United States
National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), and more. and around the world.
The Financial Social Work Financial Social Work Created first Financial
curriculum taught at the published in the new Oxford Social Work position
University of Kentucky Press Online Encyclopedia in NC-DSS.
(online elective). of Social Work.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
6 Center for Financial Social Work
Introduction
Thank you for downloading this ebook. I wrote it to provide
insight and perspective on how financially fragile clients are
because of the pandemic, social and economic injustice,
and financial illiteracy.
I felt compelled to reach out and As we introduce you to Financial
encourage all professionals to review, Behavioral Health™, I will share
revise, and expand client work to with you the role Financial Social No one
include Financial Behavioral Health™ Work has played in developing
chooses
and to share specific strategies for the Financial Health and
supporting clients overwhelmed by Wellness™ field: how I started to have
escalating financial problems, stress, Financial Social Work, what it has financial
anxiety, and trauma. grown to be today and where it is problems,
headed in the future. but most
Capitalism, consumerism, the banks,
people do.
the media, and the economy are Use the content in this ebook to
all significant contributors to this financially empower clients and
conundrum, but there is much more support them in transitioning from
to it than that. past, more traditional but less
effective money management
approaches to more current,
successful behavioral methods.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
7 Center for Financial Social Work
Past
I would like to begin by saying that I set out to create
Financial Social Work in 1997, but that is not how it happened.
In the early 1990s, with my sons in their late and live longer (often in poverty). The United
teens and having owned a business on Long States Constitution does not guarantee equal
Island for many years, I found myself ready rights for women.
to do something different with the rest of my
life. Choosing to return to grad school for my I taught and trained on Femonomics into the
MSW surprised me almost as much as it did early twenty-first century. After keynoting
my family, not because I hadn't always wanted on the subject at a National Association
to be a social worker (I had), but because I of Social Workers (NASW) conference, the
had never considered returning to school. executive director commented that I had
actually created a new social work discipline.
At that point in my life, having missed much Shortly after that, Femonomics morphed into
of the women's movement while raising my Financial Social Work because men have
sons and running a business, I quickly slipped money problems too. However, Femonomics
into pursuing my passion for women's issues. remains an integral part of my work.
It was a time of personal and academic
growth that eventually led me to create the I wish I could say Financial Social Work was
word Femonomics in 1997 and to give it the embraced and recognized for the need and
definition of the gender of money. potential it offered, but that would not be
true. Instead, many social workers told me
Femonomics focuses on the fact that we shouldn't talk to clients about money and
women earn less, are often charged more for others were adamant there was no such thing
products and services, are more likely to have as Financial Social Work (which admittedly
fiscal and physical responsibility for children, was true until I created the phrase).
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
8 Center for Financial Social Work
While the financial component of most client problems and
issues were obvious to me at that time, they were far less
obvious and concerning to others.
Nonetheless, I was determined to find ways As I spoke at conferences and trained on
to alter the bleak trajectory for men and financial self-discovery and healing, social
women ill-prepared and struggling to cope workers and other helping professionals
with their money problems. eventually began to acknowledge the need
for the work (think the Great Recession) and
I lacked a background in finance but not the request more details on the process.
passion, determination, or belief that it was
necessary and possible to engage clients Over time, my work grew into a holistic,
on the journey to sustainable, long-term multidisciplinary behavioral change model
financial behavioral change. with a major psychosocial component
addressing the financial thoughts, feelings,
Initially, my goal was to understand how attitudes, beliefs, values, and experiences
and why money so negatively impacted that contribute to financial behavior: how we
people's lives. I set upon this path through earn, spend, save, share, and borrow.
reading, individual and group work, meetings,
discussions, and observation. It didn't take
long to discover the perpetual cycle of raising
generation after generation of financially
illiterate men and women (a reality that still
exists) and its enduring threat to society, the
economy, and everyone experiencing it.
I would like to tell you I set out to create the
Financial Social Work certification based
upon my early years of work, but it honestly
was a more organic process resulting from
the techniques and materials I developed
with my own clients.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
9 Center for Financial Social Work
It is an integrative approach of specific, Early Financial Social Work graduates (2005)
original, hands-on client materials and experienced a more cumbersome process
techniques needed for financial engagement, than today's beautiful, digitally downloadable
information, motivation, validation, and workbooks but benefited as much as more
support. While seemingly eschewing more recent graduates. Most still use what they
macro-level topics like income inequality learned personally and professionally.
and disparity, oppression, etc., Financial
Social Work is a foundational component of Now, Financial Social Work is proud to
economic and social justice. introduce the timely and pertinent concept of
Financial Behavioral Health™ to demonstrate
The certification process is designed to the exigency of moving beyond dollars, cents,
assure that our students and graduates debt, budgets, and crisis intervention to meet
have the knowledge, skills, tools, and ability clients' needs at this historically prodigious
to improve their own financial lives and moment in time.
to develop the financial confidence and
competence to help clients choose greater
financial wellbeing, and address Financial
Behavioral Health™ on the micro, mezzo, or
macro levels as needed and appropriate.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
10 Center for Financial Social Work
Present
In the 2020 pre-COVID world, seventy-eight percent of Americans
lived paycheck to paycheck, over fifty percent had no emergency
fund, and credit card debt, mortgages, car loans, and student
debt were all at record highs.
These statistics painted a picture of just resulted from the heightened national and
how unprepared most were to survive the international interest and endorsement
loss of family, friends, jobs, healthcare, for Financial Social Work. Regardless of
food and living security, or any of the many the reason, the community continues to
other associated costs of the Coronavirus consistently grow.
Financial Crisis (or any emergency).
From my earliest interest in the negative
One of the numerous indicators of the effect of money problems, it was clear there
growing need and interest in Financial was more to financial health than the ability
Social Work was the significant increase to manage money. It took years to discern
in registration for our free, monthly, money what that was and then to define and address
webinars on topics of interest to our it, but when I did, it was transformative:
community. In recent years, registration
averaged four to eight hundred people, but
in 2020 and 2021, those numbers exploded The primary predictor
into the thousands. of Financial Health
and Wellness™ is an
The growing audience may have coincided individual's relationship
with the growing understanding that the with money and self.
pandemic would negatively and irrevocably
affect millions of Americans, or it may have
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
11 Center for Financial Social Work
Finally, I knew why clients grappling with the stress, anxiety, and
trauma of money problems weren't drawn to interventions based
upon dollars, cents, debt, and budgeting.
Engaging clients to heal their relationship with their money and themselves is a completely
different process than teaching money management skills. It requires focusing on financial
motivation, validation, and support by:
Connecting clients Providing healthy coping Planting the seeds of
to their money. tools and resources. financial behavioral change.
Encouraging helpful habits Emphasizing responsibility Demonstrating how
and behaviors; letting and ownership for your financial circumstances
go of harmful ones. individual financial future. impact physical, mental,
emotional, psychological,
and social wellbeing.
The limited number of steps shared
above exemplify a Financial Behavioral
Health™ approach for working with
clients on financial behavioral change.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
12 Center for Financial Social Work
Relationship with Money and Self
Your relationship with your money and yourself is rooted in childhood
and influenced by family, age, financial experiences, religion, culture,
society, gender, and other factors that may make it confusing,
intimidating, and onerous to address.
It evolves over the course of your lifetime and The theory of "relationship with money and self"
drives your financial behavior. In childhood, it is is the core of Financial Social Work and financial
influenced by whom and by how you were raised: wellness. Without it, clients flounder in a space
whether you grew up in a family where money was filled with budgets, and money management tools
or wasn't discussed; where money was or wasn't they aren't engaged by, don't understand, and
a problem; where the struggle to make ends meet don't find user-friendly.
was or wasn't a constant; whether you felt safe and
protected financially, or lived in fear of not having Financial Social Work makes the complex and
enough money for food and rent. emotional topic of money more user-friendly,
personal, and adaptable.
As you grow older, the role of friends, instructors,
colleagues, partners, or spouses play a more It empowers clients to explore their relationship with
significant role in your financial life. Media and their money and with themselves and to examine
social media are strong influences. From early their financial behaviors to determine which are
childhood on, your relationship with your money is beneficial and which are harmful in their current
reflected in every decision and in how you choose lives; which to keep and which to let go. The process
to spend and save or not save. is different for everyone but necessary for all.
Once clients are knowledgeable about the where,
why, when, and how of their relationship with money
and self they are much more prepared to learn how
to manage their money.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
13 Center for Financial Social Work
Wolfsohn Whole Person
Financial Health Model
Financial Social Work originally focused predominantly on the psychosocial
aspects of financial behavioral change.
Over the decades, money and self, society, others (people), The Wolfsohn Whole Person
life cycle, and health grew more relevant as technology and Financial Health Model reveals the
social media made it easy for people to be more connected many factors and influences involved
to each other but less connected to their money. in financial healing and health.
Wolfsohn
Whole Person
Financial
Money Self Behavior
Health Model
Others Society Life Cycle Health
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
14 Center for Financial Social Work
Money Behavior
The many mixed Financial Social Work
thoughts, feelings, is a behavioral model
attitudes, and because, until and unless
beliefs we each behavior changes,
have about it makes nothing changes. Money
it difficult to talk stress, problems, and
about, understand, anxiety are signs of the
or manage. need for change.
Self Others
Our relationship The people in our
with ourselves is as lives (family, friends,
meaningful as the one colleagues, partners,
we have with our money spouses, others)
because it determines influence our financial
our financial behavior; decisions directly and
our financial behavior indirectly. Their financial
determines our financial wants, needs, and
circumstances. choices affect ours.
Health Life Cycle
Society
Financial problems, anxiety, Within the life cycle, there are
and stress are detrimental to Money exists in a society financial tasks and expectations
physical, mental, emotional, continually bombarding us intended to be met. Some
psychological, and social with media, social media, were once the responsibility of
wellbeing. When this cause and politics, and other influences employers and governments,
effect goes unrecognized, the that shape our sense of self, but now are the responsibility
consequences threaten every self-image, and how we do or of individuals and families ill-
area of a person's life. don't manage our money. prepared to handle them.
15 Center for Financial Social Work
Financial Trauma
Financial Trauma: Negative money experiences (one major or multiple
smaller ones) contribute to harmful thoughts, feelings, attitudes,
and beliefs about money that may lead to at-risk, self-harm, self-
sabotaging behavior, and reduced coping skills.
A traumatic event is an incident causing Financial trauma reduces the ability to cope
physical, emotional, spiritual, or psychological or function at home or work. It contributes
harm. The term "trauma" is most often to the practice of life-threatening behavior
associated with violence (domestic or family, and depression. Trauma survivors are fifteen
shooting, assault, etc.) but the negative percent more likely to commit suicide, and
outcomes from emotionally devastating sixteen percent of US suicides occurred in
financial experiences are trauma triggers. response to a financial problem pre-COVID.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
16 Center for Financial Social Work
Trauma and Money
At the end of World War II, the United States began building its
consumer economy (more and more people buying more and more
stuff more and more often).
First came modest homes in the suburbs, followed by refrigerators and automobiles.
Then came televisions to tell everyone everything they should want and buy. Once the rush to
build the nation on debt began, depending on tomorrow's dollars to pay for today's consumption
was firmly entrenched.
Mortgage Debt Credit Card Debt Student Debt Government Debt
Significant debt loads have forced Americans of all ages to postpone or abstain from traditional
life milestones like vacations, new cars or homes, having children, getting married or divorced.
Those types of financial challenges and choices take a toll on mental (64% for women
and 52% for men) and physical (60% for women and 51% for men) health.
Source: Merrill Edge Report Spring 2019
Mental and physical
64% 52% health issues 60% 51%
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
17 Center for Financial Social Work
Homelessness and food insecurity are known financial stressors, but
for the men and women enduring them or overwhelmed by student
debt, out-of-control credit card bills, or lack of insurance, the trauma
they create may result in isolation, avoidance of mail, email, phone,
collectors, inability to participate in activities with a cost, or suicidal
and self-harm thoughts due to a poor financial perspective.
Some people shop to self-medicate Financially traumatized clients need
because spending provides a temporary support reducing trauma-centric thinking
illusion of control. Others will save and living; to learn to forgo stressful
excessively, hoard, or try to improve their financial situations; how to talk about their
self-worth through consumerism. These debt, identify their trauma triggers, shift
behaviors and the fear, anxiety, and shame their money mindset, and most critically
that accompany them may cause chronic to heal their relationship with their money
tiredness and nervousness that lead to self- and themselves.
sabotaging, and harmful conduct.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
18 Center for Financial Social Work
Financial Behavioral Health™
Financial Behavioral Health: The ability to identify, address, improve, and reduce
the problems, stress, anxiety, shame, and other harmful feelings that result when
money, physical, mental, and emotional health negatively converge.
When someone struggles financially, the This is because financial trauma reduces decision-
connection between money and overall health and making ability, jeopardizes work performance,
wellness increases the likelihood of an escalation in compromises self-worth and effectively leaves
physical, emotional, and mental health problems. those who experience it unable to learn new things
(especially about money management).
Pre-pandemic, the financial health and wellness
of the majority of Americans were perpetually Before anyone can cope with dollars, cents,
at-risk. Post-pandemic, these men and women's budgets, and crises they need to heal their
financial situations will be even more fragile, will relationship with their money and with themselves
potentially exceed available resources, and will which Financial Social Work accomplishes through
absolutely require updated, more comprehensive financial engagement, motivation, validation,
support and services because of continually education, and support.
declining financial circumstances.
Clients' lives and finances have changed as a
result of COVID, social and economic injustice,
and myriad other shifts in beliefs, behaviors, and
outcomes. Most were precipitated by the loss of
family and friends, jobs, healthcare, lifestyles, food
and home security, family, sense of self, and more.
Learning about budgeting,
banking, saving basics, etc.,
cannot address those issues
or motivate behavioral change.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
19 Center for Financial Social Work
Life and Work in this
Country Have Changed
Everyone's life changed in 2020; some changed more than others,
but almost no one escaped unscathed.
Many, if not most, of those changes will remain a Some life-altering changes are more obvious and
part of our collective conscience. Certain changes devastating than others (job and healthcare loss,
may ultimately prove advantageous; others food insecurity), but even the many less familiar
absolutely will not. All changes to the financial shifts in our own and our clients' lives will alter how
component of client's lives must be acknowledged, everyone navigates our "next normal."
understood, explained, and addressed.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
20 Center for Financial Social Work
COVID Related Lifestyle Changes
Spike in alcohol More shopping A roller-coaster into New flexible payment
consumption, (measured by the and out of poverty plans that reduce the
substance abuse, and number of Amazon based on government price barrier and increase
suicidal thoughts. boxes on your porch). subsidies. the amount spent.
Vehicle residency Thousands Uncertainty Plummeting
as a growing form of businesses surrounding community college
of homelessness. closed forever. student debt. registration.
More leases favoring Disappearing jobs Growing chronic Surging mental
landlords than tenants. for less-educated. unemployment. health needs.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
21 Center for Financial Social Work
Undisclosed Escalating use of Pent-up consumer Millions of jobs
child abuse. predatory lenders. spending. gone forever.
Vanishing low New debt prisons Increased domestic Crowdfunding
wage jobs. entrapping debtors. violence. funerals.
As the country gets shots in the arms of Americans to reduce the threat of
COVID, sadly, there exists no vaccine to eliminate the financial consequences
so many will be forced to contend with in its aftermath.
As you contemplate your role in helping clients
adapt to what comes next in their post-pandemic
lives, don't miss the opportunity to integrate
Financial Behavioral Health™ into your work.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
22 Center for Financial Social Work
Future
No one knows what the future holds. Planning for it is invariably
difficult yet always necessary. Even though the future is less clear
than ever before, planning for it remains requisite.
From the beginning, creating and Introducing the new Financial Behavioral
developing Financial Social Work required Health™ lens through which to view client
learning from the past, focusing on the work in the future is part of the Center's
present, and preparing for the future. Its mission to develop and expand the field
evolution and popularity were achieved of Financial Health and Wellness™.
through observation, research, training, and You are invited to be part of this exciting
relationships with thousands of national and innovative movement.
and international students, graduates, and
organizations (Canada, China, Finland,
Japan, Taiwan, Iceland, Israel, etc.). Center for Financial Social Work
Financial Behavioral Health™ Pledge
The proven, timely, relevant, and
customizable Financial Social Work
I Pledge to:
certification is the culmination of over
two decades devoted to developing a
Consider Financial Behavioral Encourage financial Go beyond debt, budgets,
Health™ in client work. self-discovery, self-care, referrals, and crisis
and self-healing. intervention/management.
Discuss clients' money
better way to engage, educate, motivate,
thoughts, feelings, Practice authenticity Help clients recognize,
attitudes, beliefs, in examining financial appreciate and heal
experiences, and values. behavior (earn, spend, their relationship with
save, share and borrow). money and with self.
validate and support clients in improving
Provide clients a safe
space to talk about, learn, Invite a psychosocial Identify, address, improve
and take ownership of financial behavioral wellness and reduce the problems,
their financial futures. approach into my life, classes, stress, anxiety, shame, and
their relationship with their money and
workplace, practice, client other harmful feelings that
work, and/or casework. result when money, physical,
Make a
mental, and emotional health
negatively converge.
with themselves.
Financial
Signature Date
Behavioral Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
Health™ pledge!
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
23 Center for Financial Social Work
Clients overwhelmed by financial problems they didn't
know how to prevent and have no idea how to fix are
Of all the knowledge
genuinely unable to learn, improve, or practice new money
and experience shared
in this ebook, the most management skills and tools while experiencing financial
important is: stress, anxiety, and trauma.
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
24 Center for Financial Social Work
Center forBehavioral
Financial Financial Social
Health™Work
Pledge
Take this pledge to become part of this
exciting and innovative movement:
Consider Financial Encourage financial self- Go beyond debt, budgets,
Behavioral Health™ discovery, self-care, and referrals, and crisis
in client work. self-healing. intervention/management.
Discuss clients' money Practice authenticity in Help clients recognize,
thoughts, feelings, examining financial appreciate and heal their
attitudes, beliefs, behavior (earn, spend, relationship with money
experiences, and values. save, share and borrow). and with self.
Provide clients a safe Invite a psychosocial Identify, address, improve
space to talk about, financial behavioral wellness and reduce the problems,
learn, and take ownership approach into my life, stress, anxiety, shame, and
of their financial futures. classes, workplace, practice, other harmful feelings that
client work, and/or result when money, physical,
casework. mental, and emotional health
negatively converge.
Signature Date
Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
25 Center for Financial Social Work
Financial Social Work Certification
An accredited Financial Behavioral Health™
training program for social workers and
non-social workers.
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Financial Social Work: Leaders in Financial Behavioral Health™
Center for Financial
Social Work
Located in North Carolina, the Center for
Financial Social Work has been creating original,
interactive, and holistic Financial Behavioral
Health™ programs for over 20 years .
8024 Parknoll Drive, Huntersville, NC 28078
[email protected]
800-707-1002 Schedule a Call
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