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A focused course in development

Money Without the Mayhem

You know how to open the bank app. That isn’t the part that feels difficult.

The balance is a number. The shame, the rush to close the screen, the feeling that you should already have figured this out: those are something else. This course considers the family messages and relationship experiences that can make money feel like a question about safety, loyalty or whether you’re worth taking care of.

Hear when enrollment opens. No payment or enrollment commitment.

Annie Wright, from her August 2026 portrait collection
With Annie Wright, LMFTMeet your instructor ↗

15,000+Clinical hours

EMDRIA certifiedEMDR therapist

W. W. NortonAuthor

Meet Annie ↗

Who this is for

Sometimes the numbers are clear.
Your response to them is harder to explain.

Open a situation to see where the curriculum explores it. These aren’t diagnostic questions, and you don’t need a particular job, income or level of outward functioning to consider the course.

01 / A familiar situationYou avoid information you know you need.A statement sits unopened, and the delay adds another layer of shame.See where we explore this

The body section considers what happens before you close the screen or set the envelope aside. Noticing that response is different from solving the financial problem itself.

Explore this part of the course ↗
02 / A familiar situationYou can charge for everyone’s work except your own.Naming your rate starts an argument in your head before the conversation begins.See where we explore this

The pattern section examines what asking for payment can bring up about worth, approval, and obligation. The course doesn't decide what rate you should charge.

Explore this part of the course ↗
03 / A familiar situationA better balance hasn’t brought the relief you expected.Your circumstances changed. The feeling that it could all disappear hasn’t caught up.See where we explore this

The opening material looks at the difference between changed circumstances and a sense of safety that hasn't caught up. Both the actual numbers and the fear deserve attention.

Explore this part of the course ↗
04 / A familiar situationYou become the family’s financial safety net.Saying no can feel disloyal even when saying yes leaves you stretched.See where we explore this

The pattern section considers money alongside care, loyalty, and family roles. A request can matter to someone you love and still be more than you can take on.

Explore this part of the course ↗
05 / A familiar situationSpending offers a brief change of feeling.The purchase makes sense in one moment and looks different the next morning.See where we explore this

The planned practices give you space to notice what a purchase is doing in a particular moment. This is reflection, not a budget or a judgment about every purchase.

Explore this part of the course ↗
06 / A familiar situationMoney conversations become relationship arguments.You’re discussing a number and somehow also defending your care, competence or character.See where we explore this

The relationship material asks what else has entered a conversation about a number. You may need to address the practical decision and the meaning each person attaches to it.

Explore this part of the course ↗

Money Without the Mayhem

The numbers deserve attention. So does what happens inside you when you look at them.

Join the waitlist and I’ll send the course details when enrollment opens. There’s no payment or commitment to enroll today.

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Explore the planned course

4 parts.
A closer look.

Read about each part of the curriculum. Nothing you open here is recorded as a personal assessment or used to score your history.

Planned module 1 · The Mirror

Where Your Money Story Actually Came From

Explore early money memories and inherited messages about worth, safety and belonging. These messages may continue to matter even when your present circumstances are different.

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Planned module 2 · The Body

Where Financial Trauma Lives in Your Nervous System

Consider the tension, avoidance or urgency that can accompany financial information and decisions. Look at undercharging, over-giving and the difficulty of asking for what you need.

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Planned module 3 · The Pattern

How It Shows Up in Your Work and Relationships

Explore recurring roles around spending, saving, earning and caring for others financially. Consider how those roles appear with partners, family and at work without treating them as fixed identities.

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Planned module 4 · The Interrupt

How to Begin Changing It

Consider the Money Memory Map and Financial Body Scan as reflection practices. The focus is noticing a response and creating room for a considered action, not receiving financial or investment advice.

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Money Without the Mayhem

Consider the outline.
Hear when the course opens.

Join the waitlist and I’ll send the course details when enrollment opens. There’s no payment or commitment to enroll today.

Join the waitlist

What we’re working toward

What could change
in ordinary life.

The numbers deserve attention. So does what happens inside you when you look at them.

These are learning goals and practices to explore, not guaranteed outcomes or a recovery timeline.

  • Identify the messages you inherited.Look at what money meant in your family and which meanings still follow you.
  • Notice the response before the decision.Consider tension, urgency or avoidance without treating them as financial advice.
  • Understand a recurring money role.Explore patterns around earning, saving, spending or supporting others.
  • Make room for a clearer conversation.Separate a practical question from the history it brings into the room.
  • Practice approaching information.Consider smaller steps toward looking at what you’ve been avoiding.
  • Know which support belongs where.Psychological reflection and qualified financial, legal or tax advice serve different needs.

Inside the written material

A place to consider
what applies to you.

The planned written material gives you room to put an idea into the terms of your own life. Finished sample pages will be available once this course's workbook is ready.

01 · Planned written material

Money Memory Map

A planned reflection on early experiences and inherited messages.

02 · Planned written material

Financial Body Scan

Proposed prompts for noticing your responses around financial information.

03 · Planned written material

Pattern-interruption plan

Written material for considering a manageable next action and appropriate support.

Annie Wright, the course creator, has been featured in

Explore the media archive ↗
Annie Wright looking at the camera, August 2026
Annie Wright, LMFT
Psychotherapist, author and educator

The person behind the curriculum

I know this territory
from both sides.

I’m a licensed psychotherapist and an EMDRIA-certified EMDR therapist with more than 15,000 clinical hours. I’m also someone with a relational trauma history of my own. Those are different kinds of knowledge. Both inform how I teach.

I once bought a one-way ticket to the Esalen Institute in Big Sur with one suitcase and a few thousand dollars in savings. One month became two, then nearly four years of working, apprenticing and studying. I had to face the past in order to have a future.

Later, I founded, scaled and sold a multimillion-dollar, multi-state mental health company. Achievement was something I loved, and it had also been armor against shame and a path out of poverty. Understanding that distinction became another layer of my recovery.

I bring this clinical perspective into courses because an idea can be easier to work with when you can pause, return to it, and see how it connects with the next one. Your history is particular to you. The teaching gives you a structure for considering it, not a prescribed version of the life you should build.

W. W. Norton authorBrown University graduateEMDRIA-certified EMDR therapist

Licensed in 15 U.S. jurisdictions, including Colorado for telehealth only, and registered to provide telehealth in Florida under Fla. Stat. 456.47.

Read more of my story ↗

On the writing & professional resources

From readers.
And fellow therapists.

Readers tell me about the paragraph they sent to a friend, or the explanation they came back to when a familiar situation happened again. Colleagues tell me how they use the writing in their own work. Here are some of those notes.

“You're a gifted writer, you offer empathy and clear headed explanations for complicated issues. You address real life issues in a user friendly/supportive way.”
L.R.
“As a therapist myself, Annie's work is my go-to resource for my clients with complex relational trauma.”
Samantha Barr, MA, LPC, NCC
“I'm so grateful to have found your writing. I see so much of myself in your posts (hello, hiding in a packed calendar!).”
A.K.
“For years, I struggled to find resources that spoke specifically to family estrangement. Annie's work is the resource I wish I'd had years ago.”
Maegan Megginson, MA, LMFT, LPC
“Your articles are always informative, wise, balanced, real and always resonate. I appreciate you very much.”
E.
“Whenever I think the blog isn't going to apply to me, it always hits the nail on the head. Thank you, Annie!”
R.
“This email was amazing. You gave the parts application outside of 'x does this because of y' textbook examples. Thanks so much for writing it.”
J.W.
“Annie, I'm so grateful for this article and space. It matters so much to have these important conversations and break the silence around trauma.”
G.L.S.
“Dear Annie, so pleased to get a deeper understanding of the complexity of relationship after reading this article. A degree of ease has since settled into my crowded thoughts with what I am going through at the moment.”
N.R.
“I've continued to follow Annie's work as she offers realistic suggestions about how to heal through relationship.”
J., Delaware
“Annie's work has provided me with an understanding of my place within my birth family, guidance on being true to myself and caring for myself, and tools for thoughtfully and compassionately dealing with my family before and after my father's illness and death.”
M., Oregon
“As a therapist and a human, I work and live in all of this. Thank you for your beautiful, eloquent words of truth.”
Amy Kane, Therapist
“Thank you for this! There are times when I look at what I have and know it's more than I ever imagined and I ask myself 'Why am I not blissfully happy, why isn't it enough?' Luckily we have your posts and newsletters. Thank you!”
J.
“I think it's a tremendously powerful analysis. I know that it has triggered realisations in myself and with others with whom I have mentioned this.”
W.H.
“Thank you for another incredibly beautiful post, Annie. It resonated so deeply with me that I looked back in a folder where I keep 'doodles,' things I have drawn or written at times that I feel something rising up that needs to be acknowledged.”
M.

Money Without the Mayhem

Want this kind of explanation in a focused course?

Join the waitlist and I’ll send the course details when enrollment opens. There’s no payment or commitment to enroll today.

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Course details

A focused course.
Time to consider it.

The balance is a number. The shame, the rush to close the screen, the feeling that you should already have figured this out: those are something else. This course considers the family messages and relationship experiences that can make money feel like a question about safety, loyalty or whether you’re worth taking care of.

The current course outline

4 planned modules
Explore the subjects above. The final lesson list will accompany enrollment.
Planned written material
Course-specific reflection and practices. Finished sample pages are not available in this preview.
Self-paced format
The proposed format lets you return to the material. Access duration and support details will be confirmed before purchase.

When enrollment opens

Get the details.
Then decide.

You don’t have to decide today whether this is your next step. Joining the waitlist asks me to let you know when the course is available.

Join the waitlist

No checkout, payment or immediate course access.

Payment and course terms ↓

Money Without the Mayhem

Take a closer look. Decide when it’s ready.

Join the waitlist and I’ll send the course details when enrollment opens. There’s no payment or commitment to enroll today.

Join the waitlist

Before you decide

The questions
that matter.

You should be able to understand what you’re considering without having to guess what the title means or what comes next.

Will this teach budgeting or investing?

No. This is psychological and relational education about money. It doesn’t provide a budget, investment recommendation, tax strategy or debt-management plan. Those questions belong with appropriately qualified professionals.

Is this only for people who grew up with very little money?

No. Family messages about money can involve scarcity, secrecy, pressure, control or expectations at different income levels. The point is to consider your history, not assume that one financial background explains every pattern.

What if someone controls my access to money?

Financial control can be part of abuse, and a self-paced course can’t assess what is safe in your situation. Seek individualized support from an appropriate local service or professional rather than relying on a reflection exercise to resolve coercion.

When can I enroll?

This course is in development, and enrollment isn’t open. Join the waitlist to hear when it’s available and read the finished course details before you decide. No release date is promised here.

What’s included, and what will it cost?

The outline describes the planned subjects and written material. I'll share the final lessons, resources, access terms and price before enrollment opens.

Do I have to work with Annie individually first?

No. The course is a separate educational offer. You don’t need to be in my practice, have a particular career or meet an income threshold to consider the material. A course doesn’t include an individual assessment or treatment relationship.

Can I take this alongside therapy?

The material may give you questions to discuss with your therapist. Whether it fits your circumstances and the timing of your care is something to consider together. A course isn’t a reason to stop support that’s helping.

Will I have to share my story with a group?

The planned format is self-paced. No required live group or community access is being promised on this page. You can read the outline and explore the cards without sharing your history or receiving a score.

What happens after I join the waitlist?

You’re asking for updates about this specific course. Joining the waitlist doesn’t purchase access or commit you to enrolling. You can unsubscribe from course emails.

For when enrollment opens

Payment, access
and course terms.

Joining the waitlist is free. The course price, contents, access and support details, and refund policy will be available before you decide whether to buy.