Creating A Professional Identity 

Creating an authentic professional identity is one of the most important and difficult parts of building your practice and your business.

"Many professionals make the mistake of not taking the time to define, refine, and articulate their professional values, strengths, and unique gifts."

I highly recommend that every professional take the time to write out a paragraph for each of the questions below. Then ask a friend who is in the industry to coffee. Ask them to ask you each of these questions and take a moment to reflect on each of the answers. Sometimes you might be surprised by what happens when you say them to yourself out loud. 

1. What are five unique gifts that you bring to your work? 
2. What types of clients do you work best with and why? 
3. When you wake up in the morning, what part of your professional day are you most excited about?
4. What experiences have led you to become the therapist you are today? What elements of these experiences do you include in your work?
5. Who were/are your mentors? What elements of their mentorship have you brought into your practice?
6. What types of therapy feel most authentic to you? How would you describe your therapeutic style to a client? How would you describe it to a referral source?
7. What are some of your professional passions?
8. If you had to describe your practice in three sentences or less how would you describe it?