Today I wanted to share a few ideas around the concepts underpinning the work I’ve been privileged to engage in alongside Minna Schmidt, and our common initiative Flourish Financially. We are very excited to be launching together our first Signature Programme, a Wealth & Mindset Academy for Women.
Why We Created Flourish Financially?
We created Flourish Financially by recognising a gap in how women are typically taught, educated, and supported around finances. Financial coaching has historically been limited to managing numbers—budgeting, debt, and income. However, we believe true financial well-being goes much deeper. For many women, particularly those navigating significant life transitions, financial stress cannot be fully addressed without looking at the psychological and emotional dimensions that underlie money management.
At Flourish Financially, we aim to fill this gap by combining financial psychology with positive psychology. Our approach recognises that a fulfilling financial life is about far more than just achieving stability or hitting monetary targets; it’s about nurturing resilience, fostering self-awareness, and building adaptive behaviours that support not only financial security but also a balanced and meaningful life. We bring together the best of traditional financial planning and the principles of positive psychology, allowing women to navigate financial challenges and life transitions with clarity, purpose, and confidence.
Our focus is to support women ready to embrace their financial journeys as an essential aspect of personal growth. By understanding the “why” behind financial decisions and patterns, we aim to help women cultivate long-term, sustainable approaches to money that go beyond quick fixes.
An Integral Part of a Fulfilling Life
At Flourish Financially, we view financial health and well-being as integral to a fulfilling life. Drawing inspiration from positive psychology and coaching psychology, we aim to empower individuals to achieve financial health in much the same way that health and well-being coaches help clients manage their physical and mental health.
This approach to financial health looks beyond mere financial stability; it embraces positive psychology to foster resilience, self-awareness, and adaptive behaviours that support lasting financial and personal well-being.
Defining Financial Health and Well-being
The World Health Organization (2015) defines good health as a “state of complete physical, social, and mental well-being and not merely the absence of disease.” Similarly, financial health can be seen as a state where one’s financial life goes well—not simply because of a balanced budget or significant net worth, but because of the alignment of financial decisions with personal (and sometimes shared/ collective) goals, values, and aspirations. This means considering financial well-being as part of an individual’s total life satisfaction, relational health, emotional resilience, and even personal potential. In alignment with the CDC’s (2013) description of well-being as how people “think and feel about their lives,” financial well-being is about feeling capable, empowered, and positive could be seen as being about one’s financial choices and the future financial opportunities they can create.
Positive Financial Health: Beyond the Absence of Debt
In positive psychology, the concept of “positive health” (Seligman, 2008) is defined not simply by the absence of disease but as a measurable and functional state that promotes flourishing. Applying this to finances, positive financial health is about more than avoiding debt or financial struggles. It is a thriving, proactive state characterized by resilience, adaptability, and purpose-driven financial behaviour.
In the Flourish Financially programme, we look at financial health as a lifestyle, with actions and attitudes that promote not only wealth but also personal growth, resilience, and well-being. In this way, our coaching goes beyond helping clients overcome financial obstacles; it aims to support them in achieving a meaningful, values-aligned financial life that resonates with their overall sense of purpose and joy.
Our Coaching Approach: Fostering Financial Resilience and Adaptive Behaviours
Inspired by the science base around “positive health and well-being” and “coaching” (e.g. Palmer et al. (2003), and Reynolds et al. (2019)) our approach applies principles from health psychology, coaching psychology, and positive psychology to foster positive behavioural change for enhanced financial well-being.
Much like health coaching addresses lifestyle behaviours for chronic health conditions, financial coaching at Flourish Financially targets ingrained financial behaviours to prevent and manage financial stress, facilitate intentional financial planning, and strengthen emotional resilience. Our approach also respects the client’s role as the expert in their own financial life, with the coach providing the tools and guidance needed to foster change in an empowering, non-directive way.
Our coaching approaches focus on creating an environment for clients to set meaningful financial goals, assess personal barriers, explore motivations, and identify solutions. Tools such as goal-setting, cognitive behavioural coaching, motivational interviewing, and mindfulness practices are integrated to promote proactive financial habits. Cognitive-behavioural processes—linking thoughts, feelings, and financial behaviours—allow clients to shift from financial self-doubt or avoidance to self-confidence and intentional financial planning. Our strategy is not to highlight what is “wrong” in clients’ financial lives, but to focus on their strengths, potential, and the transformative impact of positive change.
Key Coaching Strategies: Empowering Clients with Positive Psychology Interventions
Positive psychology interventions in financial coaching emphasise strengths, resilience, and self-compassion, empowering clients to cultivate a balanced financial mindset and develop habits that foster enduring financial health. Key techniques include:
1. Goal Setting and Action Planning
Goal setting, combined with detailed action planning, helps clients define specific, achievable financial goals aligned with their values. By understanding their motivations and creating coping plans for potential obstacles, clients can confidently work toward these goals.
2. Cognitive-Behavioural Techniques
Our coaching leverages the CTFAR model, focusing on the connection between thoughts, feelings, actions, and results. By reframing negative financial beliefs and understanding the role of mindset, clients develop healthier, more intentional financial habits.
3. Mindfulness and Self-Compassion
Practicing mindfulness and self-compassion helps clients manage financial stress, avoid impulsive decisions, and approach their financial journey with patience and acceptance. This allows for a balanced perspective on finances, reducing anxiety and promoting a positive, empowering relationship with money.
4. Solution-Focused Coaching and Motivational Interviewing
Solution-focused coaching and motivational interviewing empower clients to uncover their internal motivations, develop a sense of agency, and sustain positive financial behaviours over time.
The Vision of Financial Flourishing
At Flourish Financially, we believe that true financial health is about thriving, not just surviving. By combining positive psychology and integrated financial planning (which I’ll delve more into in a next blog article), our approach creates a comprehensive framework for individuals to navigate their financial lives with enhanced / renewed resilience and optimism.
Our evidence-informed approach empowers clients to overcome limiting beliefs, build financial resilience, and embrace a lifestyle of financial flourishing. This journey is about much more than financial security—it’s about enabling clients to live fully, with a sense of purpose, satisfaction, and peace.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Sophie
PS: If you’re as excited as we are and feel ready to strengthen your financial resilience and align your financial goals with your personal values, our “Flourish Financially” programme could be just what you need to guide you through this journey. Explore more about how you can thrive financially by visiting our website https://flourishfinancially.org/ or scheduling a consultation with me to talk about your personal situation and envisage the best steps in support of your flourishing journey.
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Inspired by:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Well-being concepts. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/wellbeing.htm
Palmer, S., Tubbs, I., & Whybrow, A. (2003). Health coaching to facilitate the promotion of healthy behavior and achievement of health-related goals. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 41(3), 91–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2003.10806231
Reynolds, R., Palmer, S., & Green, S. (2019). Positive psychology coaching for health and well-being. In S. Green & S. Palmer (Eds.), Positive Psychology Coaching in Practice (pp. 121-139). Routledge.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2008). Positive health. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 57(s1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2008.00351.x
World Health Organization. (2015). Trade, foreign policy, diplomacy and health. Glossary of globalization, trade and health terms. Related elements on Mental health: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response (accessed 04/11/2024).
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