We are all individuals. These case studies are indicative of the kinds of issues that may arise. In all cases, the response is client tailored.

Struggling Parent

This client came to  see me concerned and stressed about how unmanageable their lives had become because of financial worries. Although they earnt a reasonable salary, there was always more month left at the end of their pay.

Even through they had taken other financial management advice and support, they still could not manage.

My initial response

In this case the client needed a good listening to. They were intellignet, eloquent and clear on their responsiblites, therefore, we talked through the Stress Test (see side bar) and completed it together. This provided us the opportunity to explore what was important to them.

It became apparent that the core ‘Stressor’ was the wish to have the latest technology and ensure that the family always had the latest best quality branded clothes and the like.

The short term responses were to spend more time at the pub, drinking to much and buying rounds of drinks for their friends. The benefit was that this distracted them from their stress, temporarily.

The ‘Impacts’ were that drinking was both expensive and made the financial position worse, but the drink side effects also that it meant their work performance and quality of relationships became fraught.

Follow Up

The clients pattern(s) of behaviour had become so ingrained that the first session focused on the core beliefs that kept the behaviour in place. As we stated to discuss them and share insights, the client was able to uncover the contradictions between their values and actions.

This enabled us to then turn attention to the Emotional Needs Audit (see side bar) and identify the core areas that needed to be followed up. As this client was a very logical processor, we invested time of ensuring that their goals and priorities were concretely agreed (see side bar RIGAARIS).

We worked together on ‘psychoeducation’, which is that although in this case the client did not need to draw down on my financial expertise, they did need to learn more about how their patterns of feeing, thinking and acting were individually and personally developed for them.

Outcomes

The client became calmer, more accepting of their current constraints and the need to be measured.  They then directed their efforts and energies towards their family and bundling a career, which developed into a successful business of their own, which continues to meet both their own and their family’s needs.