Using Financial Counseling Techniques To Guide Clients Through The Financial Planning Process In Turbulent Times

Please join me for my next class about using counseling techniques to guide clients through the financial planning process.

To make it an experiential learning experience, where you learn by doing, the format for this class is modeled on a series of books I enjoyed as a boy. The stories were typical of children's books, but with a unique feature: they enabled readers to make decisions that lead to different outcomes for the main character.  

It's a lot like Financial Counseling. Conversations are fluid, constantly evolving, with forks in the road that lead clients to different emotional and behavioral paths. The class will focus on Strategic Emotional Communication skills that enable professionals to help a client recognize and navigate turning points on the road to reaching their desired destination.

This is the first of four classes that will be offered in 2023, and one of two that must be taken to maintain Certified Financial Counselor certificate.

Financial counseling is conversation, or series of conversations, designed to help meet clients’ emotional needs. To have these conversations, you need to know what to look for, what to say, and how to say it.

In this class, we examine how client conversations evolve and how to navigate paths they may take en route to productive resolution.

The agenda for the class, which is expected to be approved for 1 CE credit by CFP Board. IWI, IRS, American College's PACE program, and NASBA, follows:

• a review of fundamental principles (5 mins)
• look at current emotional environment for investors: (5 mins)
• mental health issues affecting investors: (5 mins)
• Case Study 1: a conversation with a worried client. (15 mins)
• Case Study 2: a conversation with an angry client: (15 mins)
• summing up: (5 mins)
• Q&A (5-10)

A request: Please let me know if you would share an anonymized case that has troubled or uplifted you. I can contact you to talk about it or you can This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I would certainly appreciate the feedback.

Thank you,

Dr. Frank Murtha

Frank Murtha, who holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, is the instructor of this course. For over two decades, he has pioneered the application by financial advisors of the principles of behavioral finance and financial planning psychology. He started The Financial Counseling Institute in 2021 to focus on teaching financial professionals counseling skills.

This webinar is expected to be eligible for one-hour of CE credit toward the CIMA® and CPWA® certifications, IRS EA CE, CFP® CE and PACE credit toward the CLU® and ChFC® designations, and for live CPA CPE credit.

Who Should Attend: Financial Advisors, CFPs, EAs, CFAs, CPA/PFSs, CIMAs, CLUs and ChFCs.

Cost: There is no fee to attend this course if you are a member of Advisors4Advisors ($120/year).

CPE credit: 1 hour, in the Taxes field of study

Prerequisites: None

Advanced Preparation: None

Course Level: Update

Course Delivery Method: Group Internet-Based

Program Policies: For more information regarding administrative policies such as refund, cancellation and complaint, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Advisors4Advisors is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org. Advisors4Advisors is also approved as a continuing education sponsor by IWI, which administers the CIMA® and CPWA® designations, and CFP Board of Standards, which licenses the designation for CFP® professionals.