# Certified Financial Therapist (CFT-I)

> The CFT-I is a certification from the Financial Therapy Association for financial or mental health professionals trained to help clients with the emotions and behaviors behind money decisions.

Canonical page: https://find.wellspent.co/glossary/cft/
Also called: CFT, CFT-I, financial therapist

Candidates need a bachelor's degree or higher in a financial or mental health field, or a bachelor's in any field plus the CFP or AFC. They complete the association's training, log 500 hours of experience (at least 250 in direct client work), sign its code of ethics, and pass a 100-question exam.

To keep it, certificants submit 20 hours of continuing education each renewal period, split across financial therapy (including 2 hours of ethics), finance, and mental health, and renew annually. Financial professionals who hold it must meet the NAPFA and CFP Board definitions of fee-only and follow a fiduciary standard.

The CFT-I is not a license to practice therapy. The association says it certifies a basic competency level, not a person's practice, and that financial therapy is unregulated in the United States. A CFT-I with a finance background is not a licensed counselor, and one with a counseling background is not necessarily a registered investment adviser.

## How to check

Contact the Financial Therapy Association or use its Find a FT directory to confirm certification. Check a financial professional's registration on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site, and a therapist's license with their state licensing board.

## Sources

- [Financial Therapy Association: become a Certified Financial Therapist](https://fta.memberclicks.net/become-a-financial-therapist)

## Related terms

- [Fee-only financial advisor](https://find.wellspent.co/glossary/fee-only.md)
- [Fiduciary](https://find.wellspent.co/glossary/fiduciary.md)
- [CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP) certification](https://find.wellspent.co/glossary/cfp.md)