More Financial Planners Are Acting Like Psychologists. Here's How.

Since the CFP Board added the psychology of financial planning as a required competency for certified financial planners in 2022, I’ve often heard the separate disciplines—financial therapy, behavioral finance, and client psychology—used interchangeably. That's not surprising.

The psychology of financial planning as practiced by a CFP is broad-based and holistic. It focuses on how financial planners influence the client's behaviors with their words and actions as well as how the client influences the process with their own...