How to Treat a ‘Money Disorder’ (not Wall Street's!)

[groovedaddy]

THE country music star Wynonna Judd had essentially “won the lottery” at age 17, she said. But after amassing a fortune from her career, she squandered much of it, throwing money at her children out of guilt for missing hockey practices, and buying more cars than she could ever drive. Having grown up poor in Appalachia, Ms. Judd found herself with “everything and nothing at all,” she said.

Amy Sprague Champeau was destitute following a divorce, and with no college education or job opportunities, wound up living in her car. When she finally rented a room, her only furniture was a piece of foam for a bed. Soon after she began earning some money, she ran up large credit card debts and became choked by fear.

The two women, a global celebrity and a Wisconsin divorcee trying to climb out from under a pile of bills, sought help in the budding field of financial therapy, where budget planning meets psychological counseling. They even went to a kind of money rehab, where, in six days of group therapy they dug deep into the roots of what psychologists call “money disorders,” the slew of unhealthy and self-destructive behaviors that are not as extreme as pathological gambling, kleptomania or compulsive shopping, but nevertheless afflict large numbers of people.

While it is difficult to pinpoint the number of patients or practitioners, experts in psychology and financial planning say the number of professionals offering to treat money disorders has multiplied in the last few years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/25/fashion/25money.html?th&emc=th

[supernova]

1. I can believe this

Part of Suzy Orman's appeal, apart from other money managers/motivational talkers, is that she squarely tells people to get hold of their feelings about money in their lives.

In our society, it's way to easy to tie your self-worth to your bank account and your ability to spend, spend, spend.

To get control of your finances, you have to get a handle on your feelings about money.