5 questions I ask every patient in my Financial Therapy sessions

Many therapy sessions focus on “the problem” and require the patient to talk about that problem over and over...until maybe, they are so tired of talking about it that they finally take action. Talk therapy in many instances focuses on self-awareness. Although I am a trained counselors and I do believe awareness has its place, the Financial Therapy I administer is focused on healing and not necessarily awareness. Awareness doesn’t equal healing.

At PRESIDENTIAL LIFESTYLE we’ve branded our Financial Therapy and call it Prosperous Life Coaching. Because healing is the focus of the program, I use hypnotherapy to facilitate healing, but I have access to ten different healing modalities. If you live long enough you will experience trauma. What the brain codes as trauma is complex. What may appear to be a small forgettable event to one, is a life altering event for another.

Like traditional talk therapy, in financial therapy some of the questions asked are directed toward awareness. It is my training and knowledge that insight is great, but not required for healing. So for that reason we are able to move on without it. Some people long for insight so I help them find it, if it is important to them. That may be what they need to heal. For others healing comes first even if they don’t know what happen or why it happened. All they are required to know is how they want to feel going forward.

At Presidential Lifestyle our focus is love, wellness and wealth, so our Financial Therapy sessions cover more than money. This is why we brand it Prosperity Planning. We address existential questions, behavior patterns, true heart’s desire, and even spirituality. As I mentioned earlier I also address past trauma.

Money history affects our daily decisions including are behavior around love. Sometimes money itself is attached to trauma and in those cases a deeper exploration into the trauma is important. I talked about this in a New York Times article in November, 2018.

Though each patient’s one-on-one session is different, they all have some similarities. There are five questions that I ask every patient. Some questions I ask in every session, while others I may ask several time during the program, and still others I may only ask once through out the program. They are all equally important to keeping the patient on the path to healing and transformation. These five questions are part of how I do that.

What’s going well?  

One of the questions I ask in every session is, “What’s going well?” When patients first hears this question they are a little thrown off. They often don’t know how to answer it so they say, “I don’t know,” or sometimes they say, “nothing.” I don’t usually let them get away with that. There is always something going well so we search until we find it. If we can start with what’s going well it makes the session more pleasant.

What are your obstacles or challenges?

There are two more questions I ask in every session. The first one is, “What obstacles or challenges are you experiencing or do you foresee?” This question is important for two reasons. One, we often feel blindsided by our challenges, and this question can help patients get out in front of challenges and prepare for what’s needed to experience or overcome them. Two, it allows the patient to get the thoughts out of their head and receive guidance or a listening ear to help them sift through the possibilities.

What support do you need?

This is the second one.  It is a follow-up question to “what are your challenges?” Awareness of the challenge is not enough. Being aware of what strengths you have to address the obstacle is important, but even more important is knowing where you may need help. Asking for and allowing others to help can be difficult for some. However, these days help may be a course, resource, or app. Support from a loved one can be great, but if you don’t have that utilize what you have. 

What’s your idea of prosperity?

Even though you may hear me ask this question a million times in my marketing, on podcast interviews, and when speaking I may only ask the patient this question once or twice during the entire 12-week program. I may remind them to consider their idea of prosperity while making decisions, but it’s likely that I only ask this question once and then hold the answer out in front of the patient when they are getting further away from that idea.

How do you want to show up in the world?  

I was first asked this question by my father. He didn’t say it in this way, but the second time I was asked this question was during one of my own therapy sessions a few years back. I answered it the same way I answered my father 20 years prior. Your idea of prosperity may shift and adjust based on your stage in life. However, because how you want to show up is attached to your values and purpose that usually doesn’t change much once you tap into your true self.

When you are far away from your true-self you may not know how you want to show up. So, here is another way to ask this question. What do you want people to say about you and feel about you when you leave the room?

My Prosperity Plans include these questions and more. These five questions are some of the most important. I am sharing them with you to get you to think about your life from the inside out. We are often focused on what others are doing or what others want from us. The real secret to success is to determine what’s important to you first, then consider others.

Take time to answer these questions for yourself and begin to design your Prosperity Plan. If you would like support, resources, and a community to celebrate your wins with, join Prosperity Club. Start with this free course, click here. Learn more about yourself and how you use money to receive love. After that you can try our trial membership or you can jump into the full membership. Either way, we support you.

I’ll see you in the club, start here.