Chair and couch placement

I was uncomfortable with the office setup at the T's office I went to today. I could not figure out why, but I HATED that office and felt really uneasy, although I liked the actual T fine. I finally figured out that it was that the T has his chair between the couch where clients sit and the door. I really HATE that. Is this just me being weird? Is it bizarre to have this be a deal breaker?

It would be a deal breaker for me. I would not do well with anything between me and the door. Certainly not the therapist.

That would freak me out fo sho.

Not an unusual reaction at all. Would the T be willing to change seats with you, or was this a consultation sort of thing where you won't be there regularly?

That's actually a really common complaint.

It was a consult, sort of. I am undecided if I am continuing with my current therapist, so it was an appointment to talk about that, as well as to see if I liked this T well enough to consider switching.

Come to think of it my therapist's chair is further from the door than where his clients sit. I wonder if he put thought into that. There might be some logic your complaint, My Kids.

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interesting topic. I know I hate anyone sitting behind me. At restaurants, I find a booth in the corner. My T's office is not too bad at all....where I sit, there's a window on one side to look out, and on my other side is the door. I think I'd be uneasy if she was between me and the door.

Chair placement is very important for me.

I need a direct line to the door, but I also need my back to a wall and so that I can see the door from my chair. This is true not only for my t's office, but anywhere I go. I need to know I have an unobstructed way out, and I need my back protected.

If I don't like the seats I have been known to rearrange the chairs.

Yeah I'm glad I'm not alone. I would hate that set up.

Anyone blocking the door makes me feel trapped.

I'm sure T would make accommodations if you brought it up?

I would be loathe to move anything in the therapist's office, let alone move chairs. It is her office, not mine. I would not like anyone moving my furniture.
And seeing about a different set up would be like or would be asking the therapist for a favor - I would not like to be beholden to the woman.

i dont think this has to be a deal breaker. you could simply just ask the T to sit somewhere else or move the furniture.

It wouldn't personally bother me, but if it bothers you, you need to pay attention to it. If you really liked the T, I would go back again and discuss it. If you're lukewarm about the T, then I'd move on.

I think in my T's offices we were always about equidistant from the door. But I think I actually might have preferred (though I never recognized it) if he were between me and the door. Only because one night someone came into the outer office unexpectedly (the bell rang), and my T excused himself to see who it was because he wasn't expecting anyone. It turned out to be a former client who was driving through town on business, saw the sign, and just stopped on impulse to say hello and thank you. But I found myself feeling very protected when he went to see who was there. And at another office, the T who shared the office space walked by our room and I instantly froze, hearing the footsteps outside the door. It was an instant of panic when I felt unprotected and exposed, and I might have felt differently had he been between me and the door.

I think it would make me very uncomfortable if T sat between me and the door. I don't know if it would be a deal breaker for me, but I see nothing weird in it being that important for someone else.