Journal of Creativity in Mental Health

ISSN: 1540-1383 (Print) 1540-1391 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wcmh20

The Use of Vision Boards as a Therapeutic

Intervention

Lisa Burton & Jonathan Lent

To cite this article: Lisa Burton & Jonathan Lent (2016): The Use of Vision Boards
as a Therapeutic Intervention, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, DOI:
10.1080/15401383.2015.1092901

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2015.1092901

Published online: 28 Jan 2016.

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 JOURNAL OF CREATIVITY IN MENTAL HEALTH
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2015.1092901

The Use of Vision Boards as a Therapeutic Intervention

Lisa Burton and Jonathan Lent
Marshall University, South Charleston, West Virginia, USA

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
This article presents a creative approach for counseling using Counseling; creative
vision boards that can help clients set and visualize goals. interventions; creativity;
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These goals could be related to home, life, school, relation- creativity in counseling;
imagery and goal setting;
ships, experiences, situations, values, career aspirations, or
solution-focused; vision
educational pursuits. Vision boards can be used to inspire boards
and help clients to focus on their goals and to empower
them to create the life they imagine. Aligned with solution-
focused therapy and imagery, clients become responsible for
guiding their outcome goals in counseling, which helps clients
illuminate for themselves what is important to them. The
authors discuss specifically what is needed and how to use
this intervention in counseling.

Creativity in counseling allows for a collaborative approach within which

client and counselor combine resources to generate a new plan, develop
different outlooks, and formulate alternatives (Frey, 1975). Another way to
look at creativity comes from Gladding (2008), who stated “creativity is a
quality in counseling that should be celebrated, cultivated, and encour-
aged. It is an aspect of counseling that must be emulated, for creativity in
counseling makes an impact” (p. 101). Creative approaches are grounded
in research and cover a variety of expressive techniques that utilize all
senses (Hess, Magnuson, & Beeler, 2012; Jacobs & Schimmel, 2013;
Vernon, 2009). Often, the counselor’s job is to provide opportunities for
clients to gain awareness. The use of props or counseling tools is an
effective and creative way to facilitate this process (Harvill, Jacobs, &
Masson, 1984). By using these types of approaches, the counselor engages
clients in the counseling process, can draw on client resources, and
enables clients to more fully enter into the counseling relationship.
Counselors often use creative approaches to work with a variety of client
issues because they provide a nonverbal method to facilitate resolution of
a variety of challenges that clients may face (Hess et al., 2012).
These techniques have been used with diverse populations and are useful in
assisting clients in a variety of areas such as academic challenges, conflicting
relationships, developmental transitions, stress, low self-esteem, and goal

CONTACT Lisa Burton burton15@marshall.edu Counseling Department, Marshall University, 210 Graduate
College, 100 Angus E. Peyton Drive, South Charleston, WV 25303, USA.
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
 2 L. BURTON AND J. LENT

setting (Gladding, 2005). Counselors can use creative techniques with

individuals, counseling groups, or classroom developmental guidance.
Gladding (2005) stated that “creativity can mean combining elements
within a situation in such a way that something new, different and pro-
ductive results” (p. 72). In addition, Gladding (2008), discussed the expres-
sive arts as “innovative and on the cutting edge of treatment” because they
have a long history of helping people (p. 102). However, creative art
interventions are not limited to just drawings. These interventions include
music, dance and movement, imagery, visual arts, drama, and humor.
Therefore, it is creativity that makes the client’s stories come to life and
can make the overall process transformational.
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One way to introduce creative approaches in counseling with clients is

through the use of a vision board. A vision board is “an excellent way to
engage clients in identifying, defining and clarifying what they really want in
their lives” (Mosley, 2010, p. 28). This intervention is innovative and valuable
in the counseling process. As with other creative interventions, the use of a
vision board helps to facilitate communication between the counselor and
client. Beyond increasing communication, vision boards inspire clients and
help them to focus on goals and empower them to create the life they
imagine through the identification of goals.
A vision board is a collage of images that represents the things an individual
wants out of his or her life. The purpose is to help clients illuminate for
themselves what is important to them. A vision board can assist a client in
moving from difficulties with visualizing one’s future to creating a path that is
observable and optimistic. Rather than focusing on an in-depth exploration of
past problems and concerns, the vision board allows the client to concentrate
on the future and to feel positive about what is occurring. Focusing on the goals
and priorities that are positive removes the need for a deep exploration of the
issues and allows counseling to become brief and effective (Carlson & Sperry,
2000; DeJong & Berg, 2002; Sklare, 2005).

Theoretical foundation
The majority of traditional counseling approaches focus on problems that
exist or on what is wrong with the client, which normally leads to many long
sessions focusing on past histories and causes (Sklare, 2005). Mental health
practitioners are faced with session limits due to insurance requirements and
heightened client expectations for immediate results. In addition, school
counselors rarely have an hour to devote to in-depth counseling with stu-
dents. As a result, solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) has emerged as a
productive way to approach issues while not focusing solely on problems. In
approaches such as SFBT, the emphasis is on what works and helps to guide
clients toward their future (Vernon, 2009).
 JOURNAL OF CREATIVITY IN MENTAL HEALTH 3

SFBT focuses on solutions and changes rather than on the past and
problems (de Shazer,1997). In this approach to counseling, the setting of
specific, concrete, and realistic goals is an important component. In SFBT,
the client sets the goals for counseling and a conversation begins about what
the client wants to be different in the future.
When describing the process of goal setting in SFBT, Sklare (2005)
suggested that the best predictor of effective counseling outcomes, regardless
of the theoretical orientation, is the establishment of well-developed goals
that are concrete and are presented in behavioral terms that provide detail for
what the client will be doing when the goal is accomplished. In addition,
specific goals allow the counselor and the client to confidently gauge the
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success of the counseling (Murphy, 1994).

The SFBT intervention begins with the development of a clear description
of the goal. The development of useful goals normally includes the following
criteria: goals that (a) have a personal meaning to the client, (b) are positive,
(c) are attainable, (d) are future-oriented, and (e) are able to be practiced
regularly. Once the client has established goals, the counselor and client can
proceed to what is needed to achieve the goals.

Rationale
The use of vision boards fits within SFBT because clients are responsible for
guiding their outcome goals in counseling. The vision board process focuses on
the clients’ desired outcomes instead of on those outcomes that the counselor
may perceive to be important. When setting goals using vision boards, imagery
is a key part of the process. Images may occur in any sense modality: visual,
auditory, kinesthetic, emotional, taste, or smell (Witmer & Young, 1985).
Constructing images acts as a source of motivation for future behavior. When
using vision boards with clients, imagery may help clients visualize improved
life circumstances or may help them to identify improvement in goal areas.
Additionally, it may provide a better understanding of the client’s psychological
and physiological experiences and feelings, which may help them to visualize
their goals (Kress, Adamson, Demarco, Paylo, & Zoldan, 2013). Clear objects
are more easily formed when the focus is on specific, concrete images. This
focus is similar to the basis for setting goals within SFBT.
Much theoretical, experimental, and clinical literature has emerged with
important implications related to the use of imagery in counseling (Kress
et al., 2013). The use of imagery has been shown to be of use with many
different psychological problems, including insomnia, depression, obesity,
sexual malfunctioning, chronic pain, and various phobias and anxieties,
just to name a few. In addition, the power of imagery to create a physiolo-
gical change and provide motivation for new behaviors is one reason for the
interest in using imagery in counseling (Witmer & Young, 1985).
 4 L. BURTON AND J. LENT

Witmer and Young (1985) discussed specific areas where imagery is being
used to expand human possibilities. Areas that relate to the use of vision
boards include: increasing awareness of self and others; future planning and
career and lifestyle development; improving learning, skill development, and
performance; reducing stress and enhancing health; and enhancing creativity
and problem solving in everyday living.
The use of vision boards, as a counseling technique and intervention, is
related to the use of mental images in counseling. Richardson (1969) and
Witmer and Young (1985) discussed a mental image as a “mental represen-
tation of a sensory or perceptual-like experience that occurs in the absence of
the stimulus that would produce the genuine experience” (Witmer & Young,
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1985, p. 187). This description fits the use of vision boards in counseling.
The idea is to create the “vision” that the client wishes to achieve through
this intervention process, whereby the client is able to visualize in a concrete
format what they specifically want in life. As Sheikh and Panagiotou (1975)
discussed, images can be sources of inspiration for creating future behavior.
The counselor can then use these images that the client has created to help
set goals, as discussed in SFBT, for achieving and attaining each vision.
Therefore, “experiencing something in imagery is essentially the same psy-
chologically as experiencing it in actuality” (Witmer & Young, 1985, p. 188),
which helps to create the change or changes needed.
Sometimes clients may feel overwhelmed with the goals or outcomes that
they are trying to accomplish. The feeling of being overwhelmed can some-
times create a barrier that prohibits the client from taking action. However,
being able to visualize and physically see the images they wish to achieve for
themselves and to create small attainable goals related to those images can be
the first step in helping the client erase the barriers (Kress et al., 2013).
The benefits of using imagery relate well to the use of vision boards. The
intervention is inexpensive and can be performed almost anywhere with the
necessary materials. Vision boards are a safe and nonthreatening intervention
that strengthens problem-solving abilities. When using a vision board, the
client controls some of the process. Creative thinking is highlighted, and the
intervention aids in integrating subjective thoughts with external concrete
images and helps us learn more about ourselves (Skovholt, Morgan, &
Negron-Cunningham, 1989).
Considering the importance of goal setting when utilizing SFBT, clients
face a number of challenges and difficult situations: trust, divorce, academic
concerns, gender identity issues, social issues, depression, anxiety, unemploy-
ment, substance abuse, stress, and behavior concerns. Helping guide clients
toward more positive and optimistic outlooks can assist with these
challenges.
This approach is about helping clients change and visualize what they are
thinking so they focus on more positive images and virtues. When used in a
 JOURNAL OF CREATIVITY IN MENTAL HEALTH 5

counseling setting, vision boards are just another creative and innovative way
to set and visualize goals, which could be related to home life, school,
relationships, experiences, situations, values, career aspirations, or educa-
tional pursuits. The vision board may encompass all of these areas or only
one or two areas.

Assumptions
When utilizing vision boards as a therapeutic intervention with a client, there
are many areas to consider. First, vision boards are a flexible intervention
that can be used in a variety of ways with clients. Next, vision boards can be
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used for various goals. These goals may be short-term/immediate or more

long-term goals. Vision boards may be used with individuals, small groups,
or large groups. Finally, vision boards may be used at different stages in the
counseling process.

Objectives
There are a number of objectives when counselors utilize vision boards as a
therapeutic intervention with clients. This creative intervention is helpful
because it allows the client to focus attention on specific changes that he or
she would like to make. A vision board creates a visual representation of the
client’s goals for both the client and counselor to examine. This visual
representation of thoughts may assist with resolving emotional issues, foster-
ing self-awareness, managing or modifying behaviors, reducing anxiety, sol-
ving problems, and increasing self-concept (Malchiodi, 2005). Vision boards
also provide clients with opportunities for creative expression with materials
that are readily available. The counselor may easily obtain basic supplies used
in the creation of vision boards. Finally, a vision board can be used to help
guide clients toward more positive and optimistic outlooks.

The vision board process

Materials
The following materials should be available to complete the vision board
process. These materials can be acquired from any art supply or craft section
of a store:
● “canvas” for creating (i.e., poster board, blank mask [see Figure 1],
flower pot, bulletin board [see Figure 2], scrapbook paper, construction
paper, or corkboard)
● a variety of magazines or other sources of images or words (i.e., com-
puter/printer)
 6 L. BURTON AND J. LENT
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Figure 1. Sarah’s vision board with a mask.

● glue, tacks, or Mod Podge

● markers
● glitter glue
● scissors

Process
There are many strategies and means for creating vision boards depending
on the purpose. When creating a vision board, the purpose is to decide
whether long-term or short-term goals or both will be the focus of the
intervention. For short-term goals, clients could set goals to include: friends,
school, fun, or family. For long-term goals, clients may focus on areas such as
career, family, accomplishments, where he or she will live, wants, or values.
The counselor begins by asking the client to list several goals that he or she has
for his or her life on a blank sheet of paper, or the counselor asks the client to think
about images that pertain to the changes he or she wants to make in his or her life.
The counselor may encounter clients who have little difficulty identifying goals;
however, in some cases, the client may have unclear goals or no goals that are
identified initially. To help with the process of identifying goals, the counselor may
ask open-ended questions focusing on the areas mentioned previously. Some
 JOURNAL OF CREATIVITY IN MENTAL HEALTH 7
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Figure 2. Mary’s vision board on a corkboard.

examples are: Where would you live? Who would you help? Where would you
work? What do you value? What do you want? After goals have been identified,
the counselor may assist the client in choosing which goals will be the focus of the
vision board.
Once the client and counselor have identified goals, work will begin on the
vision board. With the materials ready, describe to the client that he or she should
look for images or words that represent goals that have been identified. This
process may take more than one session with the client, or the counselor may
assign this as homework for the client. When completing the vision board, the
counselor should be mindful that the client is the one who chooses what to include
on the vision board.
After all of the images or words are identified, the client will begin cutting out
the images and placing them in a creative, meaningful arrangement on the canvas.
Because creativity and individualized visions are a big part of this process, the
“canvas” can be anything. The counselor provides blank masks, sheet protectors
and folders to place in binders, terra cotta flowerpots, different-shaped foam
boards, covers of journal books, coffee cans, and actual canvases. In addition,
there are also technological applications that can be used with a computer or
smartphone that allow the client to create a virtual vision board. Clients may
choose to use markers to write or draw images or words that represent goals that
 8 L. BURTON AND J. LENT

could not be located in other sources. During this process, the counselor provides
encouragement. Enough time should be allotted so that the client has time to
complete the arrangement on the canvas. If it is not possible for the activity to be
completed within one session, it may be spread out during the course of several
sessions.
The next step is to have the client share the vision board with the
counselor to provide a visual depiction of what the client wants to achieve.
For the vision board to be effective, the client must understand the need to
focus on what is included on the board. It is vital to use all of the senses when
looking at the vision board so that the images and words become part of the
client. The vision board will become a visual reminder of the client’s goals
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and can be changed as goals are achieved. The counselor may prompt clients
to actively think about and discuss each area on the vision board to help
clarify any areas that are unclear.
In the final step of the process, the counselor must take time to explain the
purpose of the vision board and how it is to be used. The client must decide
where to keep the vision board—for example, home, work, school, their
binder, their locker, or their smartphone if completed using an application.
The vision board should be kept in a location that is prominent and that will
allow the client to see it daily. Looking at the vision board daily and focusing
on the words and images depicted will unconsciously help the client to make
choices throughout the day that are consistent with the goals that have been
identified. The client may be encouraged to sign and date the board so that as
counseling progresses, it can be used to reflect and review goal attainment.

Case examples
The following case examples illustrate the application of this intervention.
These case studies were selected to help show that the vision boards can be
creative or simple interventions. In addition, the case examples help to clarify
that vision boards can be used in various settings such as school counseling
or private counseling and with different age groups.

Sarah
Sarah, a 12-year-old sixth-grade student, was referred to the school counselor
by her mother. Sarah’s mother was concerned because Sarah seemed to be
feeling down and was starting to argue with her mother often about friends,
homework, and her attitude. Sarah’s mother informed the school counselor
that she had just learned that Sarah was dyslexic after being tested. In
addition, her mother discussed that Sarah had always struggled with her
schoolwork, but starting middle school had made it even worse. She had
always maintained an average report card, but it took a lot of extra work and
 JOURNAL OF CREATIVITY IN MENTAL HEALTH 9

tutoring to keep her grades average. Sarah had also started to argue with her
mom about her grades and said that she was stupid and could not do the
work like her friends. Sarah’s mother was worried because Sarah was crying a
lot and staying in her room more than usual.
The school counselor decided to use the vision board intervention
with Sarah because she knew that one of the subjects she loved was art.
Due to the creative aspects of the vision board, this intervention
matched well with Sarah’s interests. The school counselor started the
work with Sarah by first letting her know that her mother was concerned
and had told the counselor about Sarah being tested for dyslexia. Sarah
started crying immediately when it was mentioned. Once the counselor
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was able to calm Sarah, they started talking about everything that was
going on with her at school and home. The school counselor, following a
solution-focused approach, started to guide the session toward those
areas in Sarah’s life that were positive. She started writing down the
goals that Sarah wanted to accomplish in the next 1 or 2 years. Knowing
these goals, the school counselor approached the idea of creating a
vision board focusing on those areas that Sarah enjoyed and on which
she wanted to improve in her life. She was very excited to see all of the
materials the school counselor had available for making her vision
board, but she immediately picked the blank mask. Sarah thought that
the mask would be a great way of reinventing herself.
The school counselor allowed Sarah to work for a few sessions (approxi-
mately 15–20 min for 3 days) on creating her vision board. Once it was
completed, the school counselor asked Sarah to explain her mask and what
everything meant on it. Sarah explained some of the main areas on her
mask. The “unique” and “be original” was about her wanting to stay her
own person even though her friends were headed in different directions.
The tennis racquet showed her that she was good at tennis and wanted to
be better at the sport so she could make the tennis team for the middle
school. The word “grateful” was placed near the mouth of the mask
because Sarah needed to let her mother know she was grateful for all
that she did for her. Sarah said she realized she was not always thankful
for everything she had and she wanted to remember that every day, so she
put the words “wake up happy” on the mask too. Pictures and words
related to art were placed on her mask because she hoped to continue
her art classes and one day go to an art institute to study after high school,
preferably in San Francisco, CA. The last important area on which she
wanted to focus and start thinking about positively was to improve at
reading. This improvement would require her doing her homework and
going to tutoring without arguing with her mother.
The school counselor discussed the importance of keeping the mask
somewhere that Sarah could see it daily and could then focus on the positive
 10 L. BURTON AND J. LENT

goals she wanted. Sarah decided to take it home and put it in her room where
she would see it morning and night.
The school counselor continued to work with Sarah and check in on her
periodically to assess how everything was going. Sarah’s mother informed the
school counselor that Sarah seemed better at home and her grades were
slowly improving.

Mary
Mary, a 40-year-old married woman, sought counseling due to some life
changes. She had been married for 7 years, but it was her second marriage.
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She had one daughter who was in ninth grade, and her husband did not have
children. Mary was feeling overwhelmed for many reasons. Her mother had
been diagnosed with Parkinson disease approximately 1 year before but until
recently had not been having many symptoms. Mary lived about 5 min from
her mother and was the main family contact since her father died 5 years
before and her sister lived in California. Mary’s mother had some caregivers
who stayed with her around the clock, but Mary still felt obligated and
burdened due to numerous appointments, grocery shopping, prescriptions,
and bill payments. In addition, she worked a full-time job with several part-
time jobs as well that took up a lot of her time. Her husband had his own
business that he started about 3 years before and required a lot of extended
travel out of state, and although it seemed to be working, Mary stressed
monthly about the bills that were due or overdue. On top of the daily
stressors, she found herself feeling depressed, as demonstrated by weight
gain, because her and her husband had planned on moving south in the
next few years, but with her mother, her jobs, and the mounting debts, she
was feeling like that would never happen.
All of these worries brought her in to see the counselor. Rapport was
developed quickly with the counselor because Mary was always very open
and honest about how she was feeling or what she was thinking. The
counselor listened for the first 15 min to everything Mary was describing.
The counselor could tell that just describing all of the problems was stressing
Mary even more. Therefore, the counselor gently interrupted Mary and asked
her to describe and list all of the things that were positive in her life at the
moment. Mary was a little surprised but started to list all of the good parts of
her life. The list was long, and Mary was surprised to see how many items
were on her list. The counselor then asked Mary to think about what she
wanted from counseling and what her goals were, but to only state them in
positive terms.
Mary described her goals as (a) wanting to be happy, (b) feeling more
content with having to care for her mother, (c) becoming more fit and
healthy, (d) financially being in a better place, and (e) making a plan for
 JOURNAL OF CREATIVITY IN MENTAL HEALTH 11

moving south eventually. The counselor then described to Mary the idea of
using a vision board to create a visual representation of all of those goals,
which would allow Mary to focus on them and stay connected to them
every day. Mary liked the idea of using this approach and wanted to start
immediately. The counselor noticed that as soon as they started to focus on
the positive and on possible solutions for all of the areas Mary had
described, Mary’s affect started to improve. Before the first session was
finished, the counselor gave Mary some instructions for creating a vision
board because Mary felt she could do it on her own and bring it back for
them to discuss.
During the second session, Mary brought her vision board with her. It was
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created on a corkboard because she wanted to be able to rearrange and

change her visions/goals as needed. One of the main focuses of her board
was moving south. Mary had picked several pictures to remind her daily that
one day, she and her family would be moving south to live near the beach.
There were also several words and pictures related to money and learning to
be smart about money. She wanted to streamline the finances so that she
could be more comfortable each month paying the necessary bills. Becoming
healthier and fit was highlighted on the board because she had realized that
attaining the body that she had in her 20s might be unrealistic at the age of
48 years. Her goal now was to eat better, exercise regularly, and lift light
weights. The last area on which she focused was to remain calm and
uncomplicated. She really wanted to learn to appreciate everything that she
already had and to find a way to manage her time better so that she could feel
more relaxed in helping care for her mother and her family.
The counselor was impressed with everything Mary had included on her
vision board. They discussed the importance of keeping it visible, and Mary
was placing it on the mirror in her bathroom. This placement would allow
her to think about the vision board and focus on it every morning and
night. The counselor decided to take a picture of the vision board and put
it in Mary’s file so that they could continue to reference it during their
sessions.
Mary continued to see the counselor for a few more sessions but finally
decided that she could continue on her own. She felt better and more focused
since she created the board, and she was experiencing improvements in
several of the areas already. Mary had lost 10 lb (4.54 kg) due to exercising
at least three times a week, which helped her feel more relaxed and energized.
Because she was more relaxed and energized, Mary was better about helping
her mother when needed. In addition, she and her husband had started to cut
back on some unnecessary expenses and had started to save money for
moving south. She still did not know when that would be able to happen
due to her mother’s illness, but she was excited about the plans toward
making it happen.
 12 L. BURTON AND J. LENT

Adaptations of the process

There are many ways to include vision boards in the counseling process. The
use of vision boards is a flexible intervention that can be used in a variety of
ways with clients in any setting. It can be used in individual counseling,
marriage, small-group counseling, or in large-group guidance. Although the
vision board process described in this article concerns using it with an
individual, this process can be implemented with small or large groups.
Simple modifications to the process can add multiple uses to the vision
board. For example, consider the use of vision boards with clients in transi-
tional periods (fifth graders moving on to sixth grade, seniors who are
graduating, a client going through a divorce or addiction recovery). This
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activity allows clients to create a vision for the transition and for the future.
In addition, the vision board can help with many different situations or
issues and can be used throughout the counseling relationship. If a counselor
is having difficulty connecting with a client, this intervention can be a great
opening activity to use to open the lines of communication. However, it
could be used at the end of a counseling relationship to remind the client of
all the progress that has been made and allow the client to keep goals visible
when counseling comes to a close.
Technology has helped to create venues for creating digital and virtual
vision boards. There are applications specific to vision boards that can be
downloaded for free or for purchase. Furthermore, Web sites, such as
Pinterest, have become popular for creating vision boards that help indivi-
duals to create virtual boards related to their dreams, goals, or desires.
There are few limits to the adaptations for this process. The counselor or
client can be as creative as needed when doing this intervention. As long as
the client’s goals are being addressed and the vision board is positive in
nature, anything is possible with this approach.

Requirements and limitations

When using this creative intervention in counseling, it is vital for the
counselor to be mindful that it may not be appropriate for all issues or
clients. Therefore, it is useful to plan this intervention with those clients or
groups for whom the goals of counseling align with the use of vision boards.
The only requirement for this intervention is that the images, words, and
ideas that are expressed on the vision board must be positive and future-
oriented. The vision board is not about past regrets. The main focus must be
on the client creating a vision of goals to be achieved.
One limitation that may be present is a lack of adequate time to complete
the intervention. In some cases, it may be necessary to complete the vision
board during several sessions. However, if time or the number of sessions is a
 JOURNAL OF CREATIVITY IN MENTAL HEALTH 13

challenge, the counselor may assign portions of the process as homework.

For example, clients could begin searching for images and words to bring to
the next session.

Conclusion
Through the use of a creative approach such as a vision board, counselors
can engage the client in the counseling process, draw on client resources, and
enable clients to more fully enter into the counseling relationship. Creative
approaches are often used to work with a variety of client issues because they
provide a nonverbal method to facilitate resolution of a variety of challenges
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that clients may face (Hess et al., 2012).

The vision board intervention discussed in this article can be utilized in a
number of ways. It may assist with facilitation of communication, inspira-
tion, and focus on goals. The goal of this intervention is to empower clients
to create the life they imagine through the identification of specific goals.
When there is a focus on goals and priorities that are positive in nature, the
counselor and client do not need to spend a great deal of time exploring
problems, which allows for counseling to be more brief and effective for
various client needs (Carlson & Sperry, 2000; DeJong & Berg, 2002; Sklare,
2005).

Notes on contributors

Lisa Burton is an Associate Professor in the Counseling Department at Marshall University,

South Charleston, West Virginia.

Jonathan Lent is an Associate Professor in the College of Education and Professional

Development at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia.

References
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