In the previous parts, we outlined the core elements of a client's financial psychology, values, and goals as well as the principles of counseling and communication. We now turn to some of the key issues related to financial psychology that affect financial planners on a daily basis. When we speak to practitioners and firms, one of the first things they ask about is how they can get their clients to take action. – specifically, when the client has not adopted elements of their financial plan, they need to decide to move forward with the plan, or they just plain disappear. So, we have devoted an entire chapter to that topic. As with the rest of this book, we are working to bring relevant research from psychology into practice.

We also devoted a chapter to helping clients manage crisis events. In many cases, when a serious issue arises in a client's life, the planner is the first to know – and in some cases, the client has no other professional in their life who they will talk to about it. We built a model based on research and best practices in other disciplines that can provide the advisor with guidance on how to navigate crisis situations. This part also includes a chapter on client assessment in financial planning. Financial planners use assessments with every client (e.g., risk tolerance questionnaires), and a book on the psychology of financial planning would not be complete without discussing the need for financial planners to better know and serve their clients by using sound, valid, and reliable assessments.

Finally, we talk about the role of the financial planner. We focus on two components here. First, we want to make sure there is clarity regarding the lines within which a planner can operate without attempting to be a mental health provider. Although we have mentioned this important point throughout the book, we feel that it is important to draw the lines even more clearly here. The second component of the final chapter is our thoughts on how the growing field of the psychology of financial planning will change the role of the planner going forward, to help planners better serve their clients.