What do people buy when the market is tanking?. "Stock up on gold, canned goods and ammo", people will frequently joke. It looks like people are also stocking up on psycho-therapy. The Boston Globe (via WSJ Health Blog) reports that therapists who cater to the wealthy are experiencing a boom. Part of it is the mental toll of the decline, but beyond that, there aren't many people willing to listen to bankers' "woe is me" tales:
"I have my hands full with what's going on in Boston," said psychologist Jim Grubman, who specializes in treating wealthy patients and financial advisers. Financial "advisers don't get a lot of sympathy from people right now."
Psychologists said the hard-driving world of bull markets and power lunches is suffering from a giant bout of introspection as markets tumble. Therapists across Massachusetts, and even a few flying in from California, said they are seeing more financial industry bulldogs - or their families - cope with acute feelings of loss and anxiety over market woes.
What do the numbers look like?
Grubman said he's seen a 15 percent to 20 percent surge in clients, and about half of those patients are financial industry advisers.
