Kara Tolman | Making Waves Counseling, Wilmington NC

Meet Kara, a stellar therapist who runs her own practice in Wilmington. While her skills are top-notch and her clients love her, she also recognizes the importance of continually refining her brand visuals. It wasn’t about being outdated—it was about the annual refreshment of her images to authentically capture the essence of her practice and uphold a standout brand identity. We meet up every year around this time to do a full brand refresh. Kara does an amazing job with her content creation and social media! She uses her bank of brand images in such creative ways and every time I see them come across my feed my heart swells a little.

Kara came to me craving a visual identity that would set her apart from the crowd, leaving a lasting impression on potential clients. She wanted to create a brand that spoke volumes about who she was and what she stood for, with updated imagery reflecting her growth and evolution each year. From the beginning, Kara had stories to tell and unique messaging to share that I don’t think most therapists are sharing!! The messages needed to be personal and they needed to be of her so that her community would be able to build the TRUST factor that is so important in the mental health space.

Every year we meet up, and together, we capture the heart and soul of her practice. Focusing on translating her passion into stunning visuals that speak directly to her target audience is always our main goal. In making her imagery uber personal, there are so many great stories we’ve told over the years: her with her little family of kitties, her self care routines, where she likes to relax and take a minute for herself, her favorite places around town, especially the beach and then of course what her office space looks like so that clients will feel more relaxed when coming to visit with her.

Her website exudes warmth and professionalism, while her social media feeds are a visual feast for the eyes. Clients are drawn to her practice and are captivated by the authenticity and personality conveyed through her consistently updated brand photography. Recently, she sent me a scrolling screen recording video of how great her fave headshot looked on Psychology Today’s website…and how it compared to the others around hers. So many of the other professionals looked like they had taken a front porch selfie or had cropped themselves out of a recent family holiday photo. You could immediately tell who had invested in themselves, their practice, and ultimately their clients….she stood out in a great way because hers was professional and super friendly…in fact, she was laughing and I just adored her selection!!

This is what it’s all about…helping potential clients and current clients feel connected to you and seen. That you are speaking their language and they feel like they know you. When we are brave enough to show up on these platforms and be forward facing, then our community knows they can trust us…especially in the therapy world.

I hope this helps you think about ways that you can begin or continue showing up for your own community. It’s so much easier when you have a bank of personal images that are uniquely YOU. You have stories to share, problems to solve, and clients and customers to serve!! Let’s Elevate Your Therapy Practice with an Annual Brand Photography Refresh just like Kara does.

Blessings,

Corry