Rachel Duncan, MA, CFT™ ATR-P

Money is never just about money.

It’s about nervous system responses, family patterns, and all the ways we try to feel safe, worthy, and in control. And the way we move toward financial healing isn’t by “buckling down” or simply “stopping the spending.” True healing is relational, non-linear, and highly visual.

My work blends art therapy, trauma-informed care, and practical financial tools to help clients untangle money shame and start building a more honest, empowering relationship with their finances.

Before I became a therapist, I spent nearly a decade behind the scenes of small businesses — managing HR, bookkeeping, and operations. I saw how money stress lived in people’s bodies and shaped their choices. So I went back to school for Clinical Mental Health Counseling & Art Therapy, determined to bridge that gap.

I know that the best place to learn about money is where you feel safe, welcomed, and allowed to struggle.

Most personal finance spaces push for willpower and restriction. I’m more interested in helping people feel resourced and supported. Clients come in overwhelmed by advice that doesn’t account for their full humanity — and leave our work together with language, tools, and insight that helps them grow in more ways than just financially.

In addition to financial therapy and community work, I partner with organizations and educators to explore how money lives in our bodies, relationships, and cultural narratives. Whether I’m guest-teaching a class, discussing financial therapy on a podcast, or facilitating a group workshop, my approach stays the same: practical, creative, emotional, and deeply human.

Set down the budget. Pick up your journal. Join me.