January Newsletter

Let's Talk About... Financial Stress

Each month, we’re taking a deeper dive into a topic related to trauma-informed or gender-responsive care.

This month, we’re addressing financial stress.

Financial stress can have a major impact on mental health, contributing to anxiety, depression, and chronic stress. Research shows that financial worry is strongly linked with psychological distress, meaning that clinicians benefit from asking about money concerns as part of assessment and treatment planning, and integrating coping skills and stress-management strategies when appropriate. Addressing financial stress in a therapeutic setting can help clients make sense of how money-related pressures affect their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. 

For mental health workers, financial stress is also a personal and professional challenge. Economic pressures like student debt, variable income in private practices, or low wages in community settings can contribute to burnout and workforce turnover. Acknowledging and managing your own financial stress—through budgeting, professional development on financial well-being, or peer support—can help sustain your capacity to be present and effective for clients.

Featured Clinical Resources

• Financial Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice
  • Textbook by Bradley T. Klontz, Sonya L. Britt, and Kristy L. Archuleta providing a comprehensive introduction to the emerging field of financial therapy, including ethical considerations and practice tools.
    
    
• Financial Therapy Association Resources
  • Journal of Financial Therapy
  • Webinars
    
    
• Financial Therapy Clinical Institute Professional Trainings
  
  
•  Free Webinars
  • Healing Financial Stress and Trauma by the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation
  • Helping Clients Overcome Money Shame and Financial Trauma by the Foundation for Financial Planning
  • Financial Shame and Trauma: Micro and Macro Level Interventions by the Center for Financial Social Work
  • Six Trauma-Informed Financial Healing Strategies by the Center for Financial Social Work
  • A Trauma-Informed Approach to Supporting Victims of Financial Scams by the National Center for Victims of Crime
  • Healing from Financial Fraud: Understanding the Emotional Impact by the National Center for Victims of Crime
• APA Podcast: Speaking of Psychology
  • Episode 22: The Stress of Money with Linda Gallo, PhD
    
    
• Winning Ways Money Talks & Financial Counseling Program
  
  
• Crisis Text Line Financial Stress and Anxiety Resources

Financial Support for Clinicians

• Scholarships
  • SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program
  • National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program
    
    
• Loan Repayment Programs
  • Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery (STAR) Loan Repayment Program
  • National Health Services Corps Loan Repayment Program
  • Connecticut Student Loan Repayment Program
    
    
• Financial Support
  • Therapist Resource Network, providing emergency financial support and burnout prevention resources 
  • Money Fit, financial wellness benefits for nonprofits and organizations
  • Debtors Anonymous, a peer-led 12-step support group for individuals working to pay off debt
  • Connecticut Financial Literacy Resources

Insights & Resources

National Human Trafficking Prevention Month

Since 2010, National Human Trafficking Prevention Month has been a presidentially designated observance, held annually in January. Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery; it is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to make someone perform labor or commercial sex acts. In 2022, approximately 27.6 million people were being trafficked.

Human trafficking victims can be any age, race, gender, ethnicity, immigration status, or socioeconomic class, but some groups are more vulnerable than others. Women and girls account for 54% of victims worldwide (Hope for Justice), and women and girls of color are disproportionately vulnerable. Other risk factors include recent migration or relocation, a history of substance use disorder, disability, poverty, involvement with the child welfare system, youth homelessness, and being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community (University of Michigan Human Trafficking Collaborative, Polaris Project).

The theme for National Human Trafficking Prevention Month 2026 is Stronger Connections, Stronger Futures, reminding us that everyday connections play a vital role in preventing human trafficking. Research shows that strong relationships at home, in our communities, and in our workplaces are protective factors against human trafficking and other forms of abuse (US Department of Health and Human Services).

Resources: 

• National Human Trafficking Hotline
  • Call 888-373-7888 or text "HELP" or "INFO" to 233-733
• Connecticut DCF Human Anti-trafficking Response Team
• Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants
• Love146
• Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence
  • Call 888-999-5545 for English or 888-568-8332 for Spanish

What's Happening at The Consortium

December Recap

Each December, we slow down with intention and lean into community, connection, and care for ourselves and each other. It’s our season to strengthen relationships, rest deeply, and recharge before stepping back into the work that lies ahead.

• Before the festivities began, we hosted our annual Holistic Healing and Recovery Through Integrative Medicine Conference on December 5th. Participants explored alternative healing approaches through presentations and had the chance to experience Reiki, sound healing, breathwork, and an experiential group yoga practice.
  
  
• This year, we partnered again with the Keefe Community Center in Hamden to adopt a local family and fulfill their wish list. A big shoutout to Jordan and Allie for leading the shopping!
  
  
• 2025 marked our first year as a Toys for Tots donation site, and thanks to your generosity, we delivered a bundle of toys to the New Haven chapter.
  
  
• We made space for team joy, too. We shared our annual holiday luncheon at Viron Rondo Osteria, then took a breather together while decorating ornaments and making memories.

Grateful for another year of healing, learning, and showing up together!

What We're Working On