While an uneven economic recovery has left many Americans worried they don't have enough money, a much, much smaller number is fretting they have too much. Good thing there's "wealth therapists" to help these members of the 1 Percent work through their particular emotional dilemma.
It's not a new phenomenon, but Bloomberg Businessweek recently highlighted the tale of a 21-year-old college student whose world was rocked after his father unveiled a family secret. They were actually the rich owners of a multinational corporation. Manhattan wealth therapist Clay Cockrell told Businessweek this kicked off an identity crisis for his patient:
“He wasn’t mentally prepared—no one would be,” Cockrell says. “He didn’t know who to trust and didn’t want his friends to think he was suddenly different, so he didn’t tell anyone.” Four years later, the patient is still working through his identity crisis while training to take a managerial position at his father’s company. “He impulsively bought a really fancy car, but he doesn’t want people to see it,” Cockrell says. “So he’s keeping it in a garage.”
Rates for these specialists can range up to $500 an hour. At those levels, they might need to start hiring skrilla shrinks of their own.
