By GENEVIEVE CUA
PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR

ARE you confused about money matters, bewildered that you can't seem to keep within your budget, or meet your goals? Or, perhaps you would much rather not even deal with money issues altogether.

Worse still, the losses of 2009 may have pulled you into a cloud of depression that you can't seem to shake. You may need a money coach.

A money coach could be a financial planner, or even a therapist or a life coach, says consultant Deborah Price who founded a Money Coaching Institute in California in 2001.

'Essentially, the work is really a way to begin to understand the often largely irrational behaviour that drives financial decisions. Most of the behaviour is unconscious. It's not a science, but the information is very very clear. As humans, we don't understand our own behaviour when it comes to money.

'We need to understand what it is in the behaviour that drives us to sabotage the very thing we say we want the most. Some of the behaviour is physiologically based, some experiential, or environmental.'

Ms Price herself was a financial adviser for over 23 years for a number of firms including Merrill Lynch and AIG. 'I left the industry because I realised that a lot of work that I wanted to do with clients, what I saw as the missing piece, was that no matter how much planning we did, too many were not achieving their goals.'

While Ms Price coaches clients herself, she also runs training programmes to certify money coaches. The institute's entire effort is driven by a need: Money issues are a major life struggle for many. The financial crisis, in particular, has put pressure on debt payments, job stability and retirement funds, straining relationships and families in the process. Yet a financial adviser or planner who merely runs through portfolios and the requisite graphs would not even come close to addressing some real, pressing and very personal issues.

In Singapore, Providend financial advisory has begun to offer training in money coaching techniques to advisers and other interested parties, who may include therapists and social workers.

For individuals, the process starts with 'four steps' - that is, four sessions with a coach to explore your relationship with money. Ms Price's programme takes a leaf from Jungian psychology, working with archetypes to help clients understand and gain insights about themselves and eventually change their behaviours.

'We have one of the very few practical models to coach people into a new level of awareness. Once people can identify (the issue), you can work on underlying behaviour strategies. This is about consistently coaching clients towards the goals, and helping them see the potholes they tend to fall into because they don't know what is driving them.

'The client is still driving the car. The coach gets in the car, and there are potholes. For 80 per cent of the population, it's not a question of whether they are going to fall into the potholes but when they will fall. The coach can help them drive around the holes, but first you have to be aware of it.'

Based on an article on the money coaching website (www.money-therapy.com), the majority of Americans in financial trouble today operate from the 'Innocent' or 'Fool' archetype. As Ms Price has written in her 'money magic' book, the Innocent takes the ostrich approach to money so they won't have to see what's going on. They're easily overwhelmed by financial information and rely heavily on other's advice.

The 'Fool', on the other hand, looks for a financial windfall by taking shortcuts. He is interested in money as a sport. While he attracts money, it slips through his hands as he is not paying attention.

Ms Price says the process may be completed in a month for some clients. Yet for others, it could take some years.

'People have the desire to resolve things and get their money issues right. You may have the desire and commitment to make improvements, and what you've done so far isn't working - those are the people who will come to coaching. Or, they've hit a road bump and money issues are becoming problematic.

'Depending on the core issues, and the will and commitment to change, we see people begin to change their archetypes in 30 or 60 days. But if they have deeper issues, certain money patterns may be harder to change.'

Providend chief executive Christopher Tan relates a case of a client who is fearful of the market because of childhood experiences. Her family had been wealthy, but the wealth was dissipated by stock market losses.

He says: 'She is the innocent victim archetype. She outsources all decisions to us, but clients need to take personal responsibility when it comes to investing. It's also difficult to coach her as she's scared. Even when it comes to risk profiling, some clients say - you answer it for me; I trust you.' She has since agreed to go for some financial literacy classes and to re-look at her investments to take slightly more risk.

Ms Price also trains coaches to watch for 'red flags' that may warrant other professional help. Some red flags may include compulsive behaviour, gambling or chronic depression. 'Not opening bills, not paying attention to statements, financial avoidance, chronic debt... If we notice depression, we know the indicators, we may send them to a doctor for an opinion.'

The spiritual aspect is yet another dimension. 'A person may have everything but he is very disconnected, and unfulfilled. That's one of the reasons we know money doesn't solve everything. We refer them to a counsellor, pastor or clergy.' A number of coaches that Ms Price's centre has trained are themselves ministers.

Not all financial advisers, however, are cut out to become money coaches. Says Ms Price: 'We can foresee every financial services company having a money coach on staff, where you identify a person with softer skills who's relationship based and good at communicating. It requires a lot of compassion and non-judgement.'

This article was first published in The Business Times.