Mixing psychology and wealth management

I FELT calm as I sat on a blue couch for my close encounter with the nascent field of financial therapy. I watched as Joel Reimer, a fit, 50-something man in a golf shirt, put sensors on my thumb and fingers.

I was in the middle of Kansas, in one of the examination rooms at the Financial Therapy Clinic, a counselling and research centre run by the Institute of Financial Planning at Kansas State University. The clinic was on Poyntz Avenue, the main street in Manhattan, Kansas. The office, like the town, the street and the building, was clean, spare and quiet. "So I appreciate you coming in today," Mr Reimer said. "I'm just going to ask you some questions. Some background questions first and some financial goal-setting questions. Do you have any questions?" I didn't. He began by asking about my marital status, children and employment. Then he went into questions about my family's finances and about our goals:

" Which of the following best describes your financial situation at the end of the month: Do you have several unpaid bills, do you break even or do you have some money left over?" We have money left over, I said.