The Trauma of Money: Why Traditional Financial Literacy Isn't Enough with Chantel Chapman

In this episode, I talk with Chantel Chapman, founder of the Trauma of Money Institute, about how trauma—both personal and systemic—profoundly shapes our relationship with money. Chantel shares her journey from financial literacy educator to developing the Trauma of Money after recognizing that traditional approaches couldn't address her own destructive money patterns rooted in childhood experiences.

We explore capitalism as a traumatizing system, the concept of financial fawning, the importance of discernment over shame, and why healing our relationship with money requires addressing both our individual experiences and the broader economic context we live in. This conversation offers a compassionate, trauma-informed framework for understanding money behaviors that goes far deeper than budgeting advice.

Episode Highlights

What trauma-sensitive approaches to money really mean
How capitalism creates trauma through profit-over-everything values
Chantel's journey from mortgage broker to creating the Trauma of Money
Why Chantel trains professionals rather than working one-on-one
Experimenting with reimagining capitalism through profit-sharing
The acronym PAUSE: Perhaps An Unseen Solution Exists
How any trauma can impact your relationship with money
The difference between hedonic and eudaimonic approaches to wellbeing
Why we need dopamine reset periods to get off the hedonic treadmill

Meet our Guest

Chantel Chapman is an International Bestselling Author—named to the USA Today Bestseller List and #1 on The Globe and Mail's Canadian Non-Fiction list—for her book The Trauma of Money (Wiley, September 2025). She is a trauma survivor, financial trauma educator, and the creator of the Trauma of Money (TOM) Method. Her journey through complex PTSD—and her realization that traditional financial literacy couldn't shift her own destructive money patterns—led her to uncover the profound link between trauma and financial behavior. In response, she spent years researching trauma, addiction, behavioral science, and economic systems to develop an innovative method for financial healing and empowerment.

Chantel is the founder and CEO of the Trauma of Money Institute, an internationally recognized certification program that has trained thousands of professionals across more than 22 countries. The TOM Method is reshaping how we understand money—not just as numbers, but as something deeply shaped by emotion, lived experience, and systemic forces.

With over 20 years of experience in financial education and fintech consulting, Chantel has taught and written curricula or programming for institutions such as Humber College, Wilfrid Laurier University, Adler University, and Simon Fraser University, and has worked with organizations including United Way, YMCA, NDN Collective, the American Psychological Association, JP Morgan Chase, and YPO.
She also serves on the National Task Force for Economic Justice, supporting CCFWE's mission to end financial abuse. A sought-after speaker and advisor on economic justice and trauma-sensitive practices, her work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, NPR, and The Globe and Mail. Chantel is a settler of European descent who works and resides on the stolen traditional lands of the Kwantlen (kwaant·luhn), Musqueam ("mus-kwee-um"), and Tswassen (saa·wa·sn) peoples.

Resources

Trauma of Money Institute
Instagram
"The Trauma of Money" by Chantel Chapman
"Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl

Keywords

#TraumaOfMoney #FinancialTrauma #TraumaSensitive #BeyondCapitalism #FinancialHealing #FinancialFawning #HedonicVsEudaimonic #MoneyAndTrauma

Click here to watch our interview on Youtube

Diana Gisel Yañez is an Investment Advisor Representative of Natural Investments PBLLC. Natural Investments is an independent Registered Investment Advisor. All the Colors is not a registered entity and is not an affiliate or subsidiary of Natural Investments. See our Disclosures and Disclaimers and read our Form CRS.