For the most part, therapists just follow their instincts and personal preferences. Gifford, president of the Population and Environmental Psychology Division for the American Psychological Association, says his own studies have found that patients do better in homey offices than in sterile, clinical spaces. I have a couch that you might see in a family room, a bookshelf you might see at home. She also has a table full of knickknacks that people can fiddle with. Gifford has also found that although most people assume dim lights would be better for creating a comfortable, intimate atmosphere, patients actually are more talkative if the lights are turned up a bit.
Brighter light acts an arousal agent.
In the end, of course, what really matters is the relationship between client and counselor. Silk, for example, has counseled victims of natural disasters, when the only office you get is a couple of folding chairs set up in the lunchroom of a local elementary school. All other things being equal, though, a cozy couch and a perky houseplant can go a long way. Our readers tell their horror stories about the worst offices they've ever seen. It should be a soothing, not jarring, environment, with art on the walls and music in the waiting room.