Susan Belchamber
Susan holds graduate degrees in International Relations, Economics, and Psychotherapy. She has been oscillating between research and practice in psychology and economics throughout her career in government (USTR and GAO), as an international trade consultant in the UK, as well as in her work in private practice and group facilitation.
Susan’s current work focuses on facilitating personal integration of collective and intergenerational trauma, with specific focus on healing trauma around money, envisioning new economic possibilities, and supporting post-traumatic growth. Besides offering energizing webinars and programs for individuals and groups to explore how to “right-size” money in their lives, Susan also loves her engagement as a group facilitator for the Pocket Project.
As a passionate advocate for replacing a world of winner-take-all by creating a world of collaborative synergy, Susan helps people throughout the world find new ways to replace anxiety and dysregulation with resilience and well-being. Although she understands economics and appreciates the role of money, she is also something of a socio-economic (r)evolutionary who cares deeply about community, consciousness, justice and all the many things money cannot buy.
The linking of Money and Trauma comes as a culmination of my life’s work.
Exploring “why do people behave like they do, especially when it doesn’t seem to be in their self-interest?” has been a driving force in my life, leading to my deep interest in psychology. From high school through undergrad and graduate school, studies in neuroscience, attachment theory and beyond, this field of inquiry has been primary to my personal and professional life.
During this time I also became aware that the world was much bigger than the culture I grew up in, largely through my studies and experiences living in Europe, South America, and Asia, and pursuing a career in international trade and economics. Over time, another key inquiry arose: “why do people believe they cannot ‘afford’ what they most value?” My passion with this question led to continued research in international relations and the emerging field of New Economics.
I also grew fascinated with theories about trauma: why it arises, how it is healed, and the potential even for Post-traumatic Growth in individuals, perhaps even within cultures! My current work with Thomas Hübl and the Pocket Project has taught me about the intertwining of personal, intergenerational, and collective trauma, and the need to address all trauma somatically and, most of all, in relationship.
Thus the exploration into my two big life questions has led to my current focus on Money and Trauma, especially since these two topics interact intimately to create deep suffering in our personal and social lives. It is my fervent desire to help discover paths to greater awareness and healing – for our ourselves and for our communities – so that we can move beyond a trauma-based relationship with money. It is then that we can begin to create a world where we invest in ways that support Life!