Sweden will offer financial therapy to children who identify as rich

In a ruling last week, a Swedish court affirmed that children under 18 do have the right to financial therapy if they identify as rich. The decision has been regarded as a milestone in transfinancial children’s fight for equality in Sweden.

The issue of finance dysphoria - the feeling that you have been born into the wrong wallet - was lifted into the consciousness of Swedes when the Swedish Left Party made finance dysphoria their main campaign issue before the 2014 national election. The party then campaigned on fighting stigma around being transfinancial, demanding that especially transfinancial and financially non-conforming children be treated with acceptance and tolerance.

In an interview, the party leader Jonas Sjöstedt emphasized that “it is crucial we stand up in the fight for children’s right to choose their financial identity.” Transfinancial kids are reported to be multiple times more likely to commit suicide than other kids, and according to Sjösted, “it is heir human right to choose who they are, whether they are transfinancial, non-financial, finance-queer, or not at all on the financial spectrum.”

Swedish economists have warned against financial therapy for finance-dysphoric minors, saying such a therapy would disturb a child’s financial development. However, sociologist Helena Johansson at the University of Stockholm affirms that “Delaying the provision of wallet-affirming interventions can cause significant mental distress to a group of young people who are already at high risk for mental health concerns and suicide attempts.”

Reports from pilot studies have described that children subject to treatment truly come alive when they get wallets that match their financial identity, and that therapy leads to significant improvement on areas such as financial well-being. A single mother of a 4-year-old transfinancial boy, who will receive financial therapy next week, said to a magazine that “although there are high risks associated with financial therapy, I would rather have a transfinancial kid than a dead kid.”

Swedish officials also have also stated that they are open to giving financial therapy to rich children who identify as poor, but report to have seen fewer incidents of this particular phenomenon. A rich-to-poor therapy session would mean suppressing the wallet’s ability to grow bigger, essentially pausing the changes that would occur during growth of wealth.

In any case, the ruling seems to have helped remove the stigma of being transfinancial in Sweden, as there already have been vast numbers of children taking the brave step to come out, ready to be treated and choosing where to belong on the financial spectrum.

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https://scandinavianjournal.com/