Couples Financial Therapy in Chicago & Across Illinois
Build greater financial intimacy, improve communication about money, and learn how to navigate your financial life as a team.
Money disagreements are rarely just about the numbers. Differences in spending, saving, debt, financial responsibilities, family expectations, or financial goals can bring up deeper feelings of fear, resentment, shame, mistrust, or disconnection.
Couples financial therapy creates a space to understand what is happening underneath those conflicts while developing healthier ways to communicate, make financial decisions, and work toward shared goals.
When Money Becomes a Source of Conflict
You can love your partner and still have very different relationships with money.
Each person brings their own experiences, beliefs, habits, and expectations into a relationship. What feels like being “responsible” to one partner may feel restrictive to the other. One person may want more transparency, while the other values financial independence. Even conversations about everyday spending can quickly become emotionally charged.
Couples financial therapy helps you move beyond arguing about who is right or wrong and begin understanding the patterns affecting your relationship.
Couples Financial Therapy May Be Right for You If...
Money conversations frequently turn into arguments
One or both partners avoid talking about finances
You disagree about spending, saving, debt, or financial priorities
You have different financial habits or money values
Financial responsibilities feel unequal or unclear
There has been secrecy or a loss of financial trust
Family or cultural expectations are affecting your financial decisions
You want more transparency while maintaining some financial independence
You’re preparing for a major financial or life transition
You’re newly committed or engaged and want to build a healthy financial foundation together
You want to feel more like a team when managing money
You don't have to wait until finances become a source of conflict to work on your relationship with money. Couples financial therapy can also help you build a strong foundation for communicating about money, understanding each other's financial values, and navigating financial decisions together.
Building Financial Intimacy
Financial intimacy is the ability to communicate openly and honestly about money while feeling emotionally safe, respected, and connected to your partner.
It doesn't mean you have to agree about every financial decision or combine every dollar. Instead, it's about understanding each other's relationship with money, creating shared expectations, and developing ways to navigate financial decisions together.
Understanding Your Money Stories
Explore the experiences, family messages, cultural influences, and beliefs about money that each partner brings into the relationship.
Communication & Conflict
Identify patterns that make money conversations difficult and practice healthier ways to communicate about finances.
Privacy, Secrecy & Transparency
Explore what financial privacy means within your relationship, where secrecy can damage trust, and what level of transparency feels appropriate for both partners.
Shared Values & Financial Goals
Identify the values behind your financial decisions and develop goals that reflect what you're working toward together.
Financial Habits & Responsibilities
Create clearer expectations around spending, saving, debt, financial responsibilities, and how financial decisions will be made.
What to Expect From Couples Financial Therapy
I use a structured financial intimacy approach to help couples better understand their relationships with money, strengthen communication, and develop healthier financial patterns together.
Couples financial therapy typically takes 10–15 sessions, depending on your needs and goals. Sessions may include guided conversations, exercises, and practical financial tools that help you apply what you're learning outside of therapy.
Emotional Support + Practical Financial Tools
Financial conflict often involves both emotional and practical challenges. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Financial Therapist™, I can help you explore the emotional patterns affecting your relationship while also incorporating practical financial tools when appropriate.
Depending on your goals, this may include tools related to budgeting together, debt, saving, financial responsibilities, money dates, spending habits, or creating greater financial transparency.
Financial therapy is not financial planning or investment advising. I do not recommend or sell financial products. When specialized financial advice is needed, I may recommend working with an appropriate financial professional.
Couples Financial Therapy FAQs
-
It’s common for partners to have different levels of comfort or readiness when it comes to talking about money or seeking support. Couples financial therapy works best when both partners are willing to participate, even if one person is initially more hesitant.
If your partner isn’t ready, you can still seek individual financial therapy to explore your own relationship with money, financial stress, boundaries, and the parts of your financial relationship that are within your control.
-
That's common. Couples often bring different money experiences, habits, values, and priorities into their relationships. Therapy can help you understand where those differences come from and develop ways to make financial decisions without requiring one partner to adopt the other's approach.
-
Practical financial tools can be incorporated into couples financial therapy when they support your therapeutic goals. This may include budgeting, spending, saving, debt organization, or developing shared financial routines.
However, financial therapy is not financial planning or investment advising, and I do not provide investment recommendations or sell financial products.
-
My financial intimacy model typically takes 10–15 sessions. The exact length depends on your relationship, the concerns bringing you to therapy, and the goals you want to work toward together.
-
Yes. I accept select insurance plans through Headway for couples financial therapy in Illinois. Coverage and out-of-pocket costs vary depending on your specific insurance plan.
Insurance benefits can be verified before scheduling so you have a better understanding of your coverage and any expected costs.
-
Couples financial therapy is currently available to clients located in Illinois, where I am licensed to provide therapy. Sessions are offered virtually, so I can work with couples throughout the state.
If you live outside of Illinois and are interested in working together, financial coaching may be an option depending on your needs and goals.
Build a Healthier Financial Relationship Together
Money doesn't have to remain a source of disconnection in your relationship. Couples financial therapy can help you better understand each other, communicate more openly about money, and develop financial habits and agreements that support your relationship.
Reach out to learn more about virtual couples financial therapy in Chicago and across Illinois or to schedule a free consultation.