Link between financial and mental wellbeing sees WA wealth management firm team up with psychologists

Discussing people’s mental wellbeing, their financial wellbeing is often not the first thing that come to mind, but the link between the two is the focus of a new partnership between WA-based businesses

Wealth management group Integro Private Wealth has joined forces with psychology and business coaching firm Performance Story to provide mental health support to its clients.

It comes as people on higher incomes are becoming increasingly affected by financial stress.

Intergro partner Justin Gilmour said he had seen a substantial increase in the number of clients who may require mental health support in recent years.

“Off the back of rising interest rates, the challenges of equalising estate and supporting future generations has created that, and I think there’s a direct correlation with mental health and financial strength,” he said.

Mr Gilmour said he had seen the rate of income protection claims because of mental health rising rapidly, with people from a variety of professions affected.

Performance Story chief executive Peta Slocombe said it was not just people on lower incomes who were experiencing financial distress.

“We do have people in mid to high-level income brackets that are hit by unprecedented uncertainty in the market, and consequently for their life decisions,” she said.

Anxiety is Australia’s most common mental health condition, with Beyond Blue saying one in four people would be affected by it in their lifetime.

“You have people who used to just have periods of uncertainty that are now living in a sometimes mid-to-low level, but really chronic level of uncertainty,” Ms Slocombe said.

While financial stress can be objective or subjective, Ms Slocombe said the latter was expected to grow significantly.

“We see a significant amount of people can no longer predict really clearly what their future financial situation might be in a way they used to, and that causes a lot of anxiety,” she said.

Integro inked a deal earlier this year with AMD Chartered Accountants to expand its services in the South West.