Financial Therapist vs. Financial Advisor. vs. Credit Counselor: Which Is Best For You?

Credit card debt is far more common than you may realize. Forty-six percent of American credit cardholders carry a balance from month to month, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Credit Card Debt Survey. All that added up to a whopping $1.21 trillion in U.S. credit card balances in the second quarter of 2025, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report.

All that rising debt can put a strain on cardholders’ mental health. Almost half (43 percent) of U.S. adults say money has a negative impact on their mental health, at least occasionally, causing anxiety, stress, worrisome thoughts, loss of sleep, depression or other effects, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Money and Mental Health Survey.

However, there is help — if you want it. Your options include:

• Financial therapists
• Financial advisors
• Credit counselors

Below, we’ll cover the differences between the three and share insights from those who chose one, along with what drove their decisions.

When to choose a financial therapist

The role of a financial therapist is not to tell people how to manage their money, says Kate Dorman, certified financial therapist. “[It’s] to help them to better understand their relationship with money and empower them to confidently manage it.

“Someone may choose a financial therapist because they want to:

• Break long-standing financial habits and develop healthy [ones]
• Reduce financial anxiety and stress
• Decrease feelings of financial shame
• Increase confidence in financial decision-making
• Create a financial path forward
• Change intergenerational money scripts
• Identify and establish financial boundaries
• Effectively communicate about money with a partner, friend, or family member.”

The cost of financial therapy depends on factors like therapist experience and the cost of living in a geographic location. “Financial therapy is a flat hourly fee and ranges from $100 to $800 per appointment. Some financial therapists accept insurance or offer sliding scale rates, while others do not,” Dorman says. “Whether a financial therapist accepts insurance depends on license type, state of license and personal preference.”

First-hand financial therapist experience

As the owner of Calgary, Canada-based Gemstone Lights, Tate Leavitt says he found himself overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety about his finances. “I knew I needed more than just a financial advisor to tackle these emotional barriers. While free tools such as podcasts and audiobooks might provide helpful advice, a financial therapist provides personalized support, responsibility and guidance based on your specific situation.”

Leavitt and his therapist worked together to develop plans for paying off high-interest debts: “This offered me a sense of control and clarity, lowering my stress and allowing me to go forward with a clear plan.”

When to choose a financial advisor

A financial advisor is a smart choice if you need help managing your money, says R.J. Weiss, a certified financial planner (CFP) and CEO of The Ways to Wealth, an independent personal finance website.

CFPs often charge based on assets under management or through fee-based structures, says Weiss. “If it’s fee-based, very few CFPs offer à la carte services for quick, one-off sessions. Instead, they typically work on long-term relationships. Depending on your needs, you might pay $200 to $300 per hour and need at least 10 to 20 hours of help and planning annually.”

The quality of a CFP is your priority, Weiss says. “You want a transparent and collaborative relationship where both of you are working together to achieve your goals.”

First-hand financial advisor experience

Kevin Shahnazari, founder and CEO of FinlyWealth, a Canadian credit card recommendation platform, hired a financial advisor in 2018 after racking up debt starting in 2015.

All this was happening during a period of significant personal and professional transition, Shahnazari says. “I was launching initial business ventures and managing personal expenses simultaneously. I specifically sought an advisor with experience in both personal finance and small business financial planning, which was crucial for my comprehensive financial strategy.”

Shahnazari’s advisor helped him with:

• Creating a structured debt repayment plan that prioritized high-interest cards.
• Providing strategies for balance transfer opportunities.
• Optimizing credit card rewards to accelerate debt payoff.
• Developing a comprehensive financial strategy that balanced debt reduction with business growth.

“Within 18 months, I paid all my debts with a structured plan that always prioritized high-interest cards while maintaining business growth,” says Shahnazari.

• How to choose the right financial advisor
  

  When looking for a financial advisor, Shahnazari says:

  • Find someone not just in debt management, but in holistic financial planning.
  • Choose an advisor who can provide both tactical and strategic financial guidance.
  • Ensure they understand your specific personal and professional context.
  • Be transparent about all aspects of your financial situation.
  • View the relationship as a collaborative partnership for financial growth.

When to choose a credit counselor

Those best suited for a credit counselor are struggling with high debt, says Monique White, an accredited financial counselor and head of community at Austin, Texas-based Self Financial, a credit-building platform.

Certified credit counselors are trained to help individuals manage debt more efficiently by creating a budget and walking through debt options, says White. “Lifestyle adjustments, debt management plans or bankruptcy are some options a credit counselor will walk through with their clients.”

How long clients stay with a credit counselor is based on the amount of debt, income and the time commitment, says White. “If a client enrolls in a debt management program, they may work with their counselor for between three and five years to pay off their debt.”

First-hand credit counselor experience

Tiana Moore, a registered nursing student from New Britain, Conn., recently completed repayment of $25,000 in credit card debt using the services of nonprofit credit counselor Money Management International (MMI).

Moore admitted that over three years, she racked up debt by swiping her credit cards for everything. “It accumulated so quickly. But what really hit hard was the [cards’] APRs were wicked high, at between 27 percent and 29 percent,” she said. “I was connected to MMI from my bank, Bank of America, after a layoff in 2019 and work interruption in early 2020 due to the pandemic. They said they partnered with MMI to help customers consolidate debt.”

The timing was ideal, says Moore. “It came to a point where I was trying to maintain the minimum monthly balance of $25 because that’s all I could afford at the time. And then having kids in a house to pay for, I was drowning in debt,” she says. “I had to figure out [what] to do, or I was going to have to file for bankruptcy.”

Now that she’s debt-free, Moore says it was all worth it, and the biggest lesson learned with MMI was not to get back into debt again. “It’s not for the faint of heart. I was making a monthly payment of about $500 to have MMI manage my debt — and that was hard. I’m a mom and I have a household to maintain. So $500 a month seemed like a lot.”

The bottom line

Money is deeply personal and emotional, says Dorman. “If you are going to be open and vulnerable with a therapist, you need to be able to trust and connect with them. Be open to having your money beliefs challenged, [because] through examining your money beliefs, you can truly grow.”

But, no matter which type of financial expert you decide to reach out to, know that change and growth are possible.

“Don’t even think about it,” Moore continues. “Just do it because you’re only going to hinder yourself and continue accumulating debt if you don’t do something about it. You’ve got to take that leap of faith.”