Slideshow I presented at the 2015 Psychotherapy Networker Symposium in Washington DC. Describes how private practitioners can use visual imagery to clarify their goals. Develop a business mindset while helping more clients.

1. Create Your Private
Practice
Use Color and Imagery
to Make the Business of
Practice Enjoyable

2. Right & Left Brain Concept: Overly simplistic
but visually interesting

3. Most therapists lack
confidence about business
skills
This is what the
left side of my
brain probably
looks like- and
many therapists
feel the same
way.

4. “Right Brain” Thinking
The idea of dividing
the brain into
halves is rather
simplistic, but fun
to consider visually.
This exercise can
help us envision
our strengths and
the ways we need
to stretch our skills.

5. Depict your ideal client
This visual exercise really helps define the purpose
of your practice, so you’re not trying to do
everything for everyone.

6. Getting a focus
We sometimes experience unexpected insights when working visually, rather
than trying to figure things out intellectually.

7. This is not about making Art.
• These visual exercises allow you to think
about practice-building in a new way.
• This type of activity also gives you a chance to
do what we routinely ask clients to do: try
something different, even if you feel uncertain
about it.
• This method also tends to dissolve doubts and
fears about owning your own practice.

8. Did you just notice how
long it took to read a
page?
Our brains are
much better
equipped to
interpret images
than to
comprehend the
written word.
We’ve been seeing
things for MUCH
longer than we
have been reading.

9. Another Ideal Client exercise
In the process of using images, the therapist was
able to identify specifics about who she wanted to
work with and also where to find referrals for this
type of client.

10. Therapists need to get better at telling
people exactly what we do.

11. We can assist very capably with
many common life problems.

12. We can also develop skills for making
strategic plans.

13. You can learn about
business without feeling
like this.
Getting acquainted
with marketing
concepts and other
ideas from the
world of business is
not necessarily
difficult, just not
familiar to you yet.

14. The clients you like
to see are looking
for help.
They don’t know
how to tell
you’re the right
fit for them.
You can make
yourself visible
when you
achieve clarity.

15. The Create Your Private Practice class helps you make a
road map, to get to the practice you want.

16. With new understanding about learning and the brain,
we can identify the exact steps you need to succeed.

17. Picturing your actions step-by-step propels you
along, so you get things done.
A lot of success as a business owner is about
knowing how to use your time and energy
effectively.

18. Wishing you could get both “sides of your brain” to
work together on your business?

19. Free association isn’t just
for Freudians
Let your hand move
the pen.
Your hand contains a
great deal of
intelligence and is
sending feedback
signals to your mind as
it moves along the
page.
New realizations occur
as you view images
and freely write.

20. If you’re imaginative and love color…

21. this class will even help you
make sense of
spreadsheets.

22. Using the visual part of your brain allows you to
see how the pieces fit together.

23. The brain is
constructed to
perceive patterns
You will find that
practice with
visual material
enriches your
clinical work and
improves your
ability to arrive
at surprising
associations.

24. Using our entire brain lets us see symmetry and
the underlying structure of things.

25. Please let me know how I can help you
Create Your private
practice