[atisketatasket]

My therapist recently moved to a new office suite that she shares with one other therapist. There are two offices:

1) a small, L-shaped office. The desk is in the short part of the L and the client and therapist sit in the long part. Disadvantage: the therapist is between the client and the door because the lack of space.

2) a much larger square office with a number of places to sit--a group of couch and armchairs, two smaller sets of chair pairs. Disadvantage: half of one wall is floor to ceiling windows and a door looking out on the parking lot. (The door is just an emergency exit.) There are shades on the windows but not on the door. Anyone who walked by could see in.

Which would you rather meet in? (I hate them both, but prefer the smaller office.)

[Polibeth]

I would hate both but prefer the smaller one

[daisydid]

My therapist actually also moved to a larger office recently. I prefer it to the smaller office. There is more space between us, which I love because I have a rather large personal space bubble.

[*Beth*]

Oh, whoops - I voted before reading your post. I would prefer the smaller office. I would prefer ANY office, actually, that is not teletherapy

[stopdog]

I would hate the small room more than the large room. If the therapist did not cover up the window on the door and for some reason that therapist was the only therapist available to hire and one wished to hire one, then I would suggest taking in a piece of tape and cloth to cover the window on the door with, and remove and take it with you when you leave. If the therapist protested - I would mention privacy rules. I would never hire a therapist who blocked the doorway.

[atisketatasket]

Not only did she not cover up the door, she seemed puzzled that I wanted to close the shades, and insisted that no one could see in unless they came right up to the door.

I should have complained that she wasn’t validating me.

[LonesomeTonight]

So, I'm trying to picture where the door would be in the small office so that the T would be between client and door. If you and the T switched places, would she no longer be between you and the door? Or is there some way to adjust where you each sit to do that?

[atisketatasket]

So it’s like:

————————————
|Window (blinds drawn)|
|
|Big cozy client chair. |
|
|
|
|Therapist. (To her right several feet) Desk|
|
|Door.
—————————————————————————————

And being Info there is a giant rack of gauzy scarves between her and the door.

Unless we switched spots there is no way to adjust where we sit.

[ArtieTheSequal]

I would prefer the smaller one. L's current office is smaller than the one I originally saw her in for the first year. In the current one (home office), her chair is closer to the door than where I sit on the couch but it's not blocking the way, I would just have to walk past her chair if I ever decided to bolt. (I've felt like it before, but never have.) I like the warmer, less clinical feeling of the smaller room. It feels more personal and I guess, like it contains the stuff I say better than the old, bigger office did.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by atisketatasket

My therapist recently moved to a new office suite that she shares with one other therapist. There are two offices:

1) a small, L-shaped office. The desk is in the short part of the L and the client and therapist sit in the long part. Disadvantage: the therapist is between the client and the door because the lack of space.

2) a much larger square office with a number of places to sit--a group of couch and armchairs, two smaller sets of chair pairs. Disadvantage: half of one wall is floor to ceiling windows and a door looking out on the parking lot. (The door is just an emergency exit.) There are shades on the windows but not on the door. Anyone who walked by could see in.

Which would you rather meet in? (I hate them both, but prefer the smaller office.)

if this was me i would go for the big one. windows and doors can be covered with a screening that allows people to look out but not look in. people with vehicles do it all the time to protect their babies and privacy and so do hospitals and so on. grayhound bus's have this screening as do trains on the private cars.

i wouldnt let windows and doors prevent me from obtaining mental health services. instead i would kindly suggest for confidentiality sake a screening.

as for the small room i would see my therapist in a closet if need be. what matters to me is my own mental health and what i come to therapy to work on. im not there to decorate the room lol Im there to talk about me and my problems.. also having a therapist between me and the door is not a factor. when i want to leave i just say so and leave, im not the kind of person just up and walk out a door leaving the therapist sitting there wondering what the heck just happened. (which could leave the therapist thinking i quit and wont be back so they are free to schedule my day and time with someone else who needs that time.)

[stopdog]

Having one of those people block the exit would **** with my mental health a lot more than any therapist is worth

[atisketatasket]

Originally Posted by stopdog

Having one of those people block the exit would **** with my mental health a lot more than any therapist is worth

That is why the small office bothers me. I want the freedom to get up and leave without having to climb over the therapist.

And when I leave early, which does happen occasionally, it is usually because they have made a colossal mistake.

[stopdog]

It is important to tell those people when they make colossal mistakes. And I am always surprised at how absolutely clueless they can be about things like privacy. Unless it benefits them -then they are all about it.

[Mountaindewed]

My therapist has the biggest therapy office I’ve seen. It’s very clean too. My last T’s office was small and cluttered and kind of messy and she had toys all over the place.

I don’t mind either. But I think I like the closed in feeling of a smaller office. Just not the mess.

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by atisketatasket

So it’s like:

————————————
|Window (blinds drawn)|
|
|Big cozy client chair. |
|
|
|
|Therapist. (To her right several feet) Desk|
|
|Door.
—————————————————————————————

And being Info there is a giant rack of gauzy scarves between her and the door.

Unless we switched spots there is no way to adjust where we sit.

Oh, I see. Now I'm picturing you getting tangled in the scarves on your way to run out of there.

[coolibrarian]

In 30+ years of seeing my T, she has had 3 "in person" offices and added telemedicine last year. I don't mind telemedicine, but I prefer the in person offices. I can watch all of her reactions and she, mine. I think telemedicine can sometimes be distracting.

[ArtleyWilkins]

All of my therapists have had rather small offices, so that's what I am used to and comfortable with.

My favorite office was actually that of a psychiatrist I saw just a few times over a summer break in college. His office overlooked the ocean and had just this huge wall of window that I sat facing. I could had sat there and just watched the waves roll for hours - probably would have been too distracting for actual therapy though. LOL.

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by ArtleyWilkins

All of my therapists have had rather small offices, so that's what I am used to and comfortable with.

My favorite office was actually that of a psychiatrist I saw just a few times over a summer break in college. His office overlooked the ocean and had just this huge wall of window that I sat facing. I could had sat there and just watched the waves roll for hours - probably would have been too distracting for actual therapy though. LOL.

That sounds nice, but also distracting! My T basically has a wall of windows (not floor to ceiling) that I face when I'm in person. He's on the second floor, and there's a bunch of tall trees out there. It can be nice to watch them blow in the breeze, but I've had to ask him to shut the blinds on super-windy days, because it was almost like I was getting seasick from seeing them behind him (I moved to a different seat one time). I hope I can return to that office later this year...

[nottrustin]

Long term T had three different offices. The 1 st was a good size office with the seats about 4 or 5 ft apart. On the second floor. Thr one window was behind me.

2nd was her home office with was very small and cozy. I actually liked it because when we are talking about painful topics my voice becomes quieter so she could hear better.

3 office was in the same but first floor with huge windows. . I could see the sidewalk. Not a lot of font traffic so. ot a big deal. She did have window covering that made it hard for somebody to look in but I could definitely see out.

All three offices the door was at our side so getting out was not an issue. I have never left mod appointment though, so no issue there.

Current T has a pretty small office We are about 4 feet apart. We Re on the 3rd floor. There so so tiny window bit the only way too see anything and stand an look out. I do wish I could see out the window. I am closest to the door.

[SlumberKitty]

I responded the small one. I wouldn't like the big windows and stuff like that. Pdoc has an office in a very expensive city in CA that has floor to ceiling windows that open out into a courtyard with a fountain. The one time I was in his office, it didn't bother me. But my back was to the windows. Usually we talk via some sort of video chat service. Simple Health I think it is called so the windows do not matter. T has a small office with no windows and a covering on the window that is on the door that just empties into the hallway. It's not a big deal even if there weren't a covering because she only sees clients there on Saturdays and no one else sees their clients on Saturdays. I don't bump into other clients and there's rarely ever been any other practitioners there. But I think for therapy I prefer small and cozy.

[ArtieTheSequal]

There's a window that I sit facing (that's behind t) and sometimes I get distracted if I see a bird in the tree right outside or something. She has these privacy shades that you can see out, but people can't see in. Not that it matters, as she's kinda out in the country. There's also a window to the left of where I sit but it's more awkward to look out that window cuz it's way more obvious that I'm looking away from her. plus that window you can see the front door of her house through so i would feel weird looking out that one.

[atisketatasket]

Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight

Oh, I see. Now I'm picturing you getting tangled in the scarves on your way to run out of there.

That is probably Info being wily.

The scarves are for her psychodrama. I guess they play Salome a lot.

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by ArtieTheSequal

There's a window that I sit facing (that's behind t) and sometimes I get distracted if I see a bird in the tree right outside or something. She has these privacy shades that you can see out, but people can't see in. Not that it matters, as she's kinda out in the country. There's also a window to the left of where I sit but it's more awkward to look out that window cuz it's way more obvious that I'm looking away from her. plus that window you can see the front door of her house through so i would feel weird looking out that one.

I've gotten distracted by a squirrel out there before. And once, my T got all excited and said, "Look at the hawk!" It was rather endearing.

[WarmFuzzySocks]

Originally Posted by LonesomeTonight

I've gotten distracted by a squirrel out there before. And once, my T got all excited and said, "Look at the hawk!" It was rather endearing.

My t's cat walked back and forth along the windowsill and peeked in the window behind her one day. It was much more interesting than whatever I'd just been whining about. Maybe I should just pull up some cat videos instead of doing therapy and save myself some money... Heh.

@@, I would prefer the larger office because I like more light and space,and I don't care if anyone sees. Plus there might be cats.

[atisketatasket]

There are no cats. Info doesn’t like them. In fact she seems generally anti-pet.