Change in the therapy office

[Ryan Howes]

What is it like for you when something changes in your therapist's office?

After seven years of good, reliable service, I retired the couch (loveseat, actually) used by my clients yesterday. My rough math estimates that over 11,500 hours of use finally took its toll on the old, faithful couch, and it was time for a new one. As a psychodynamic therapist who believes in maintaining a consistent frame (elements of therapy that remain constant to create a reliable, supportive atmosphere), I'm curious about how a change like this might impact people. For some, it will be no big deal, they may not even notice. For others, the change might be disruptive and raise questions about why and how I made the decision. I'll bet some will miss the old couch, as saggy and uncomfortable as it was. It was a part of the experience for them, a part that needed to change.

So I'm curious. What is it like when something in the therapist's office changes? It may be furniture, other decorations, the therapist's approach, the session time, or perhaps the entire office location?

After I finish the series I'm working on I might post something about this, and borrow some of your quotes if that's okay.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Interesting question! I'm always amazed at how clients notice anything that changes, even little things. Until now, it had never occurred to me that some people could find those changes stressful.

I look forward to the responses...

 

[Domo]

Nothing has ever really changed at my psychologist's office so i am not sure how it would make me feel. I don't think it would bother me though.

I do like the couch there, it a velvet type material and you can write in it. Gives me something to do when i am extra nervous. I draw lines into where my arm is rested :lol:

Actually i think it would bother me if she got a new receptionist. I have a good relationship with the girl there and i think i would be a bit on edge with someone new.

 

[gooblax]

I never really saw any obvious changes in my therapist's office when I was seeing him. Although one day he got me to sit in a chair on the other side of his office, and I felt exposed and more vulnerable than usual. The next session, I was eager to get back in the usual spot just for that sense of comfort and familiarity. (Actually even with the first therapist I saw, I would always sit in exactly the same spot, even though there were three other places to choose from.) I'd imagine that a new chair wouldn't bother me so much as making sure it was in the same place as the last one.

 

[Jazzey]

A big plant was removed which was next to where I sit. It was a plant that I used in a grounding technique while I'm there. I noticed its disappearance right away. I wouldn't say that it was distressing. But, I did notice its absence. I was uncomfortable for that session because I kept looking for it.

 

[Murray]

Last week when I went to my therapist's office, the chair that I sit in had been moved about 3" and was angled just slightly different. I am embarrassed to say that it was all I could do to leave it where it was. I kept wanting to fix it. I think that just maybe I am a wee bit sensitive. lol

 

[forgetmenot]

For me i like things to stay the same it just helps me feel comfortable having a surrounding i am use to. I like the big leather chair i sit in i use it to ground me to. i feel the coolness and smoothness of the leather. I always change the position of the chair when i go in the office as it has been moved to close and straight on. I like to angle the chair to the side a bit facing the door. I noticed pictures missing or moved and wonder why. Sometimes i wonder what it would be like to switch chairs and sit where the therapist sit and he sits in the chair i am in. Maybe i would feel more in control then. I would not like things to be changed i think your clients will feel out of place for awhile.

 

[Hermes]

I don't think I would notice.

Hermes

 

[poss]

I think like Gooblax if my chair was moved to a different place or even angled differently that would really bother me. I wouldn't feel as safe somehow. I'm like that in real life as well, like at evening classes I always like to sit in exactly the same place otherwise it feels really weird. I don't notice everything about my therapist's office, just that she always has fresh flowers. But the chair and its position is the most important to me.

 

[AllyCat]

I had a therapist who had just started in the offices I saw him, everytime I went there, there was either something new in the office (bookshelves etc.) or he had rearanged everything. The first few times I was alright with it as I realised he needed to settle in his new office. But then, as it carried on, whenever the office got rearanged it made me a bit uneasy. One of those times he moved the couch from a place near the door (where I had easy access to it) to directly opposite the door with him sitting in between me and the door. That was very uncomfortable as I felt trapped, my session didn't go too well. I asked him to move the next time I went there (my session went a bit better). I think for me if something changes once in a while it's OK, but when it happens constantly it kind of throws you and you have to stabelise again every time you go there.

 

[hkfiesta]

I was reading a book, I think it was one of Milton Erickson's.. either that or Bandler/Grinder (can't recall exactly, so please don't quote me on which book it's from). Anyway, it mentioned an interesting case where one client walked into a office, sat in the regular chair and proceeded to talk about how he/she found it difficult to express him/herself. The therapist explored this for a bit and then suggested that if the client felt he/she could not express him/herself that well at the current location; if hypothetically he/she were somewhere else, if it would help. The client agreed that if in the occasion that him/herself was not at the exact location, he/she would be able to share more. Then the therapist continued on this idea suggesting that perhaps if there was a hypothetical couch/chair somewhere else, then it would be a different location and that perhaps this new other location would allow the client to more easily express his/her concerns to the therapist. The client agreed. The therapist then told the client to stand up, move the chair, and sit down - according to the case, after that the client suddenly really did feel more comfortable and apparently the rest of that session went well.

So I'm curious.. has anyone had any experiences in which changes in the environment worked out for the better?

 

[littlepieces]

Yes, about six months ago he moved into another room which is a lot bigger I dont really like it for a number of reasons.

The size of the room but i think thats because it reminds me of when I saw a theapist who practced in a huge room and i really felt lost it was not a good match.

The seating as the couch is new and now inbetween the door and T so if I sit on the couch ill have my back to the door which would make me feel very uneasy, so I have to sit on the chair which is old and worn. Also as the room is a lot bigger there is a longer walk in and I hate walking in with T close behind, before i could go in and he would have to close two doors and so I would have plenty of time to go in and sit down. Furthermore I dont feel i can sit down untill he has passed me as there is quite a narrow gap bettween the sofa and the chair i sit on which T has to walk though to get to his chair, so i end up having to stand there awkwardly!

I think I probably could go on and on. In a way it has felt like I have had to start again which sounds odd but its like all my first session nerves returned and it is taking me along time to feel like I did in the other room.

I hope that has given you some good insights!

littlepieces