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Yes. It was a brand new client I’d never seen before, and he wanted me to see more of him than I was ready for!I knew from his intake form that he was Australian, and had come to Virginia for an IT job. He was tall and lanky and wore a baseball cap and Hawaiian shirt.As he sat down on my slightly scuffed cream leather sofa, he started to quickly unbutton his shirt, and was reaching for his belt. Seconds passed before I was able to come up with the following highly empathic, brilliantly therapeutic intervention, expressing profound and unconditional positive regard:What are you doing!!! You can’t take your clothes off in here!I admit it. That’s what I said. Later I thought of all the things I could have said, but Carl Rogers would have congratulated me for concreteness and genuineness, I like to think. Probably not, but I like to think that.Anyhow, the client said calmly, “Would it be OK if I just took my shirt off? I’d feel more comfortable if I took my shirt off.”Still in full empathy mode, I blurted, “No!”Subdued, he ventured “Shoes?”Normally I’d be OK with shoes, but I just shook my head no.I would like to tell you that I quickly figured out what the disrobing was about, and what it meant, but I still have no clue. Neither did my peer supervisor, though he did remind me of the nude psychotherapy movement, and guessed the guy might have been involved in that earlier and made assumptions. I thought that was a huge stretch. (Yes, it was a thing: Nude psychotherapy - Wikipedia.)There’s no doubt in my mind that another therapist, someone a lot more talented than I am, could have handled that situation creatively and brilliantly and made it a powerful therapeutic event.

Very interesting question!If I were the owner of a failing marketing agency, I would focus on two budget-friendly methods in getting new clients.One will be a short-term approach, a quick way to engage prospects. And the other will be a long-term approach, a slow but steady plan.My short-term approach to get new clients?Social media.But particularly LinkedIn!LinkedIn can be a lead generation heaven for B2B companies. Most of the decision makers and professionals today are on the site. All I have to do is to create an excellent profile and be active. I will join groups and I will participate in discussions. I'll create relationships with prospects and with influencers, too. LinkedIn can be a great source of leads. But it can also be a source of people that can help you network and reach more clients.My long-term approach?Content marketing.Maintaining a blog and integrating it with my social media accounts.Creating content to generate new clients is a slow approach. It may cost you money in the beginning, but it will be cost-effective in the long run. Using the engagement that I will have in social media, I'll write posts that will add value to my prospects. I will create other forms like infographics and videos. I will tap the sales and marketing influencers that I engaged in LinkedIn. I will request if they can guest post on my blog. I will create informative yet engaging content.I prefer these two methods because they can be integrated with each other.And with these two, I think I'm sure that I can get new clients without emptying my wallet.

No, certainly not.When you are making a new friend, do you “outline your approach to friendship?”Do you even have an “approach to friendship?”A good therapist knows lots of techniques and approaches and isn’t going to pigeonhole you into any of them without getting to know you and forming a partnership first. Then the two of you can create the “approach” that best suits your personality and situation—one that can be refined and improved as you go.Therapy isn’t a friendship, but it is a developing relationship that requires intuition, spontaneity, and commitment on both sides. And the “approach” will arise from, not determine, how therapist and client connect.