Creating Self-Portraits is an individual and/or group career development tool designed to assess without testing. Researchers have found that testing can be counter-productive; once clients were labelled, they frequently stopped self-examination. A tool was needed that would help people understand themselves in a way that would encourage further self-exploration in a detailed and broad manner, and in a way which accommodated change over time. Creating Self-Portraits guides clients in self-examination using four aspects: (1) Meaning (values, beliefs, interests, and barriers to meaning); (2) Outcomes (the components of a dream or future vision); (3) Activities (including preferred, past, and needed); and (4) Tools/techniques (including skills, knowledge, and attitudes). A semi-structured interview format is used to explore each area. Responses are laid out in four columns on a large sheet of paper. Each aspect is carefully analyzed so that items of fundamental importance are uncovered. Rigorous evaluations of Creating Self-Portraits have not yet been completed. However, clients report that they enjoy and feel motivated by the process. The self-portrait is a living document that keeps pace with the client's changing perceptions of self, and, as such, provides a blueprint for career-planning. (RJM)