I'm Sean Sawyer, and I've been a Psychotherapist since 2003, a trade dabbler since 2015, and an active, full-time trader since 2017. I don't know of many other active clinicians who are active Traders. I gained unique insights and an understanding of trading psychology by applying my extensive training and experience, particularly my specialization in trauma, to trading psychology.
My expertise is significant because trading presents threats every time you trade—threats against your capital, therefore, your family, and goals for the future. Treating psychological trauma involves mediating threat signals to the brain that activate the sympathetic nervous system, which shuts down the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that regulates emotion and stores trading knowledge. Threats impact decision-making, perception, interpretation of data, and long-term physical and mental health.
I have helped people with various issues throughout my career, but psychological trauma became my specialty many years ago. Performance psychology became a part of my practice in 2010 when I helped folks in the corporate world with “flow,” public speaking, and confidence building before expanding my work to athletes and stage performers.
I've never been a "typical" therapist. I swear too much and don't keep a pair of pom-poms in my office to cheer people while telling them to think positively. The reason why is it’s a bunch of bullshit. It doesn't help people long-term. While gratitude is essential for expectation management and good quality of life, it's different than a “positive mindset,” which ignores the unique individual's life experiences. Simple positive thinking is like putting plywood over a pothole; it’s a temporary and half-assed fix. If it worked, we would all “positive self-talk" ourselves into wealth. I use only evidence-based practices, meaning we know they create change, expose weakness, and build strength.
While Coaching and Psychotherapy differ, I see similar issues impacting Traders’ performance intraday impacting individual's quality of life as I have moved into trade psych coaching from my clinical practice. Stubbornness, ego and inability to accept market realities are common culprits. Lacking awareness to know when performance is inhibited by repeating lifelong patterns is also quite common because the context of trading and childhood is so different we don't recognize the process is the same.
For example, if trusting people wasn't a good idea in your younger life, you likely don't trust your decision-making in general and in the market. These traumas are milder but also more pervasive. You’ll likely see them manifest in romantic relationships as well. If you have trouble saying no to people and setting limits, you’ll have trouble setting limits with yourself on red days, not chasing trades, etc. If your parents, peers, or siblings frequently criticized you, your frustration tolerance might be low, leaving you with self-doubt and shame, leading to tilted decision-making. Depending on your temperament, you may overcompensate for the same dynamics and accept nothing but perfection, and because perfection doesn't exist, it leaves you chronically unfulfilled. There are countless examples.
Bringing these issues and related habits to the market leads to unprofessional trading behavior and a spiral that erodes confidence and competence. None of these issues have to ruin your ability to be a successful Trader or your quality of life. Content individuals have a higher probability of becoming successful Traders. The difference between you and the herd is the willingness to look hard at yourself, doing the work to change it, and working with someone qualified and experienced enough to help you create lasting change.
My expertise is significant because trading presents threats every time you trade—threats against your capital, therefore, your family, and goals for the future. Treating psychological trauma involves mediating threat signals to the brain that activate the sympathetic nervous system, which shuts down the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that regulates emotion and stores trading knowledge. Threats impact decision-making, perception, interpretation of data, and long-term physical and mental health.
I have helped people with various issues throughout my career, but psychological trauma became my specialty many years ago. Performance psychology became a part of my practice in 2010 when I helped folks in the corporate world with “flow,” public speaking, and confidence building before expanding my work to athletes and stage performers.
I've never been a "typical" therapist. I swear too much and don't keep a pair of pom-poms in my office to cheer people while telling them to think positively. The reason why is it’s a bunch of bullshit. It doesn't help people long-term. While gratitude is essential for expectation management and good quality of life, it's different than a “positive mindset,” which ignores the unique individual's life experiences. Simple positive thinking is like putting plywood over a pothole; it’s a temporary and half-assed fix. If it worked, we would all “positive self-talk" ourselves into wealth. I use only evidence-based practices, meaning we know they create change, expose weakness, and build strength.
While Coaching and Psychotherapy differ, I see similar issues impacting Traders’ performance intraday impacting individual's quality of life as I have moved into trade psych coaching from my clinical practice. Stubbornness, ego and inability to accept market realities are common culprits. Lacking awareness to know when performance is inhibited by repeating lifelong patterns is also quite common because the context of trading and childhood is so different we don't recognize the process is the same.
For example, if trusting people wasn't a good idea in your younger life, you likely don't trust your decision-making in general and in the market. These traumas are milder but also more pervasive. You’ll likely see them manifest in romantic relationships as well. If you have trouble saying no to people and setting limits, you’ll have trouble setting limits with yourself on red days, not chasing trades, etc. If your parents, peers, or siblings frequently criticized you, your frustration tolerance might be low, leaving you with self-doubt and shame, leading to tilted decision-making. Depending on your temperament, you may overcompensate for the same dynamics and accept nothing but perfection, and because perfection doesn't exist, it leaves you chronically unfulfilled. There are countless examples.
Bringing these issues and related habits to the market leads to unprofessional trading behavior and a spiral that erodes confidence and competence. None of these issues have to ruin your ability to be a successful Trader or your quality of life. Content individuals have a higher probability of becoming successful Traders. The difference between you and the herd is the willingness to look hard at yourself, doing the work to change it, and working with someone qualified and experienced enough to help you create lasting change.