For Practitioners · Free guide · 7 min read

Recognising Survival Responses in Financial Behaviour: A Practitioner Guide

A practical guide for mental health and financial practitioners: recognise possible freeze, flight, fight and fawn patterns, ask without judgement, and choose a manageable next step with your client.

Inside the guide

Start with circumstances, permission and safety
Freeze: when engaging with money feels impossible
Flight: when urgency or constant activity takes over
Fight: when protection becomes rigid control
Fawn: when keeping others secure comes at a personal cost
A short conversation sequence for any response
Know when another kind of support is needed
The aim is curiosity, not classification
Source framework and further learning

Read the full guide

This guide is free to read online — no sign-up needed.

Read the guide

By Jane Monica-Jones, financial therapist and author