Office decor--that's a topic I don't think we've ever discussed here!

And we've discussed EVERYTHING here!

When I worked with teens, I had about 8 framed "Calvin and Hobbes" color prints along the wall, and some original comic book art. They loved that. We had padded seats and a huge bean bag they could sit in.

With my adult groups, I had a large hand-made American Indian quilt hanging on the wall behind my seat, a small stone waterfall, and a few pieces of client art on the walls. The chairs were really soft, comfy stuffed recliners with blankets, and giant sunny windows where you could occasionally see hawks soaring just outside.

Oh, and volume--Loudness was allowed!

I think, for me, office decor is a big issue. It needs to be inviting, comfortable and someplace where I can feel safe.

It helps that my t is the kind that has one of those offices where there are the comfy chairs, couch, pillows, and wall and table decor. It gives a good focus point for the difficult topics when looking at him is not something I can do. The pictures on the wall are nature related, he has a stone waterfall thing and a bookshelf with stuff on it besides just the books I'm comfortable and trust him, but I think I would have a harder time talking in an office that looked more like a consultation room or other "sterile" office.

I can't stand the sterile type offices, they feel cold to me. Cold environments don't work when you need something comforting where you can curl up in a little ball on those days where you feel the most vulnerable.

Oh, volume is not an issue with him, either.

I never realised decor and room layout was an issue for me until they moved premises and the room became much better. It is more spacious and full of natural light. It has proper couches inside of outdoor style furniture ..stupid wicker sofa and detachable cushions in weird "bucket" style seating. I really hate chairs that force me into only sitting one way. It makes me more self conscious. Now if I want to slouch I can. If I want to have one leg one the sofa with me I can. Also because the room is bigger I can pick a chair that is a comfortable distance from my fish.

Elsewhere in the room is a bookshelf come toy display area. Which I like because if I want to use modelling clay or something it's right there. Plus, they've just got a dolls house and I sometimes start my session by looking in. It's like a focus point really..like the one painting or item in the room that signals fish time. Behind my fish is a really nice painting of a tree but unfortunately lies too near her eyeline for me to stare at it during sessions.

Another nice touch is the plush, patterned rugs. It's nice to have something interesting to stare at :)

Yes, the room needs to be functional but how functional is it when a client isn't made to feel safe? It sounds very clinical. When I work with the NHS all of their rooms have "posture" furniture and depressing grey/yellow walls. It makes me feel exposed and uncomfortable.

Since moving into the new premises I've made leaps and bounds. My fish saw an immediate change in me when we moved.

When I am a fish I'm going to have plush furniture and a few pics up. A bowl of stones/shells is good. I still have my fishing shell...I hold it when I want to feel safe and it lives with the sweatlodge stones I have in a bowl.

Loud is allowed in my room too but I've never used it. The building has people in it and the small possibility of someone hearing me has always stopped me yelling or crying loudly.

As always, my forthright 2 cents – feel free to take it as you will:

You know, I don’t think you have to choose between being far too exposed or keeping things in check. As people’s posts have shown, there are other options out there waiting for you. And the other options are pretty much endless; as endless as people [in this case, read: therapists] are unique.

I believe office décor does tell you about what type of person you’re dealing with, and what they’re willing to put up with, meaning how much they “get” it. Some types of décor will show you how much they follow textbooks and theories. But how much do these types of people understand with their heart? Other types again, show you how orderly and organized they are, but how much of that is actually too much control? Will they concentrate on labels and attempt to pigeon-hole you or will they concentrate on you as a person with a wound? Do they want you to be you, or do they want you to be something they can easily manage?

Then again, nobody’s perfect (thank heavens!). I’m happy with my therapist’s décor, albeit it’s not ideal for me, but it’s good enough: I feel free enough to let myself go in her office, which is the most important thing for me. I need freedom more than a sense of protection. And I need human warmth and presence more than organized theories. And this is what I need the decor to convey.

I never thought about asking about volume, actually. Not during my first round of therapy and not now either. I just assumed volume comes with the territory. I really can’t see myself in therapy without the right to wail, keen or yell in anger. Loudness-wise my intense emotions aren’t housebroken, nor do I expect them to be. If a therapist were to expect my emotions to be composed and frugal during a session, well, then that therapist is not for me…

I like a therapy room that isn't formal and stuffy, but doesn't feel juvenile either. I don't like to feel like I'm visiting someone's grandparents or an attorney's study, but I don't want a lot of "Gee wiz, I'm quirky! Aren't you amused with my whimsy?" clutter--EXCEPT when I worked with adolescents, in which case that was EXACTLY what my office was like. Comic books on the shelves, Simpsons lava lamp, squeeze toys, bean bag chair, dragon plasma ball, etc. They loved it, and yet they also worked hard in there instead of just coming to play.

One friend of mine told me that she went to a therapist's office for the first time, and it was just three grey doors in a grey waiting room with no receptionist. She wasn't sure what to do, so after waiting around she just left. When she called the office they said, "Didn't you the doorbell by the side of the third door?" She hadn't. Their intent was that the would ring for someone while waiting in this isolated grey antechamber. So refused to ever go back, and as a gift to me on her last day of therapy she gave me a doorbell button.

Grey doors sounds like something right out of The Matrix!

I got assigned to a county work group to review the "recovery oriented" MH policies for the county. One of the specifications is that waiting rooms and offices should reflect "an atmosphere of hope"... as evidenced by bright colors, well-lit and well-maintained spaces, client art, etc. I thought that was interesting to see in the first page.

HealingJourney,

The first therapist I ever saw had a fairly traditional office: carpet, couch, reclining chair, pictures on the wall, a lamp, bookcase and her chair in the corner. I wasn't too concerned about being loud at the time because I had no memories of the abuse--that would take three years with her before I was able to whisper, "I think I was sexually abused."

Sometimes I would sit in the chair and sometimes, when I felt brave, I'd lay on the couch where I couldn't see her...that's where I whispered my suspicions about the abuse.

I've come to believe however, that the most potent place for dealing with the abuse is sitting on the floor. It does away with the social amenities associated with furniture and offices and "proper" behavior.

On the floor or on the ground, I can get in touch with deeper places than when I'm sitting in a chair or on a couch. And when that happens it hardly matters what the rest of the office looks like.

Glad your first session went okay.

xx
SuzA

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SuzA

I've considered the floor. I've done it before, might do it again.

I went to two places where you opened the door and there was no indication whatsoever of what you were supposed to do. No signs, no people. Bizarre.